


See You Around

by lycanhood



Category: The 100 (TV), clexa - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Clarke & Bellamy are BFFs, Clarke & Raven are BFFs, Eventual Smut, F/F, Getting Together, Getting to Know Each Other, Lexa & Anya are sisters, Lincoln is their cousin, Party Girl!Clarke, Pre-Law!Lexa, Raven has a disability, Shy Lexa (The 100), Slow Burn Clarke Griffin/Lexa, Soccer Player!Lexa, artist!Clarke
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-16
Updated: 2018-08-10
Packaged: 2019-04-04 11:14:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 20,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14019063
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lycanhood/pseuds/lycanhood
Summary: Clarke & Lexa meet at a party, and seem to keep running into each other in the following weeks as their friend groups start to collide. Lexa is very tempted to break her no dating rule, when she can't get Clarke out of her head.Featuring flirting, friendships, and that college life(Alternating between Clarke & Lexa's 3rd person POV, but mostly Lexa's)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've never written for Clexa before (I've been strictly Supercorp until now), but I've been reading a shit ton of Clexa College AUs and have seen so many fun headcanons I wanted to play with. So here I am throwing one more into the pile. I figured if I wasn't getting tired of them then maybe you guys weren't either.

“Why are we here again?”

 

The question comes out whinier than Lexa intends when Anya parks the car and shuts off the engine about twenty yards from the party they’re meant to attend. 

 

Anya is turned around in the driver’s seat digging around in the back floorboard looking for her leather jacket. Apparently the sacred article of clothing has been buried under a pile of fast food wrappers, cigarette cartons, and energy drink cans.

 

“Lincoln asked for backup. He doesn’t wanna be stranded in the lion’s den all alone.” Anya explains, while rummaging through the garbage. “Ah ha!” She triumphantly pulls her worn leather jacket free from the trash and plobs back down in her seat tugging it on.

 

Lexa peers through the windshield at the Arkadian clubhouse. The place is glowing bright on the otherwise dark campus. Lexa can hear the dance pop flowing out of the open windows and the voices of half drunk college students letting off steam after the long week. She can tell already that the place is a headache waiting to happen.

 

“And we like Lincoln?” she sighs, slumping back in her seat.

 

Anya chuckles at her and shrugs her shoulders. “Family obligations and all that jazz. Come on, it won’t be so bad.” 

 

With that her older sister gets out of the car with every certainty that Lexa will follow after her, just as she always does. And of course Lexa does, mumbling “You don’t know that.”

 

She jogs to catch up with Anya who is confidently striding into enemy territory. “Just for a little while.” Lexa declares “I have a very important Netflix documentary about ancient warfare waiting for me at home.”

 

“I’m sure you do, nerd.” Anya reaches up and ruffles Lexa’s hair, making the younger girl duck and dodge away from her.

 

“Cut it out!” Lexa swats at her sister and tries to smooth down her hair as they approach the house.

 

Lexa is immediately bombarded by the smells of sweat and weed as they enter the party. Music pounding, people shouting to talk over it, and bodies. So many bodies. 

 

The clubhouse is meant for large gatherings, but this is pushing its limits. People are packed tightly together lounging all over each other or dancing in salacious grinds, they overflow out into the front and back yards. 

 

Hanging on to the back of Anya’s jacket, Lexa let’s her sister lead them towards the kitchen where there are sure to be booze. Anya always seems to know where she’s going even if she’s never been somewhere before, especially if there are booze to be had. Lexa actually finds it kind of spooky. 

 

In the kitchen, they help themselves to vodka and Hawaiian punch. Lexa takes a few grateful gulps from her cup and refills it, hoping to stave off some of her anxiety at the number of people she doesn’t know here. Anya checks her phone.

 

“Lincoln says he’s out back. Come on.” She grabs Lexa by the sleeve of her shirt and tugs her along behind her, until they finally step out of the house and back into the night air.

 

“Yo, Woods!” Both sisters turn and spot their cousin Lincoln approaching them with open arms from across the yard. He embraces Anya first with both arms, swaying her side to side in a rough bear hug. Anya pretends to be annoyed, pushing away from him.

 

“Hey, Jerk.” she mumbles, taking a sip of her drink. Lincoln just grins at her, then wraps one arm around Lexa in a much gentler hug. He smells like weed and aftershave,  and Lexa kinda loves it. She gives him a tight squeeze and he places a kiss on the top of her head, before they step back.

 

“Hey, Commander, how’s it going?”

 

Lexa rolls her eyes at him.

 

“Don’t call me that. It’s a dumb nickname.” 

 

Lincoln chuckles at her modesty. “I think, it’s pretty badass. The team has never looked better, and that’s because of you.”

 

Anya slings an arm around Lexa’s shoulders “My little sister, the soccer star. I’m glad it’s not going to your head.”

 

“Definitely not.” Lexa shrugs her off taking another sip of her drink.

 

“Thanks for coming, guys. I know, this isn’t our usual scene.” Lincoln is saying, a bit apologetic.

 

Anya shrugs looking around. “You know, I’m not too picky. Booze and babes, and I’m good. It’s this one you have to worry about.” She bumps her hip with Lexa’s.

 

“I’m fine.” Lexa insists, with a roll of her eyes. “I guess, I needed to get out anyway.” She tells Lincoln.

 

“That’s the spirit!” Anya raises her glass to Lexa’s in a little toast.

 

“Well, come on then.” Lincoln says walking backwards “I want you to meet Octavia’s friends.”

 

Anya and Lexa exchange a silent look between them at how whipped their cousin currently is, but follow after him without a word.

 

Lincoln started dating Octavia Blake about three weeks earlier, and has fallen completely head over heels. Lincoln was a senior at Polis University and Octavia was a freshmen at Arkadia State. 

 

The two schools shared the medium sized city of Tondc and a terrible rivalry. That’s part of why Lexa had been so reluctant to come out tonight. This was an Arker party on the Arkadia campus, not a place she and her friends often frequented. As long as they didn’t run into any soccer players from the Arkadia team they didn’t have much reason to worry. The sports rivalry between the two schools was very serious, and none more serious than that of the women’s soccer teams. 

 

Lexa was only a junior, but she had been captain of the Grounders for about a year now. If any of the Arker players spotted her there was sure to be trouble.

 

Lincoln leads them over to a considerably quieter corner of the yard. Lexa immediately spots Octavia Blake sitting on top of a picnic table amongst a small group. She had already met Octavia several times before, since she and Lincoln were basically fused at the hip these days, but Lexa didn’t recognize anyone else. 

 

“Hey, guys, these are my cousins, Anya and Lexa.” Lincoln introduces them with a point of his finger as he draps one arm around Octavia, back in his rightful place by her side. 

 

The dark hair girl gives Lexa and Anya a bright smile, leaning into Lincoln. “What’s up?”

 

“Not much.” Anya says in that nonchalant way of hers. Nothing is ever up according to Anya. “Thanks for the invite. And the booze.” She says raising her glass.

 

“Anytime, the more the merrier right?”

 

No one had ever accused the Woods sisters of making something merrier, but Lexa got the girl’s point. They were here to make Lincoln feel more comfortable and judging by the way he beams at this small interaction, they were succeeding. 

 

“These are my friends.” Octavia says, gesturing vaguely at the other occupants of the picnic table. “That’s Raven, don’t believe anything she says.” She points to the girl sitting directly beside her. A dark skinned, dark hair girl in a red leather jacket with a smirk on her face. The girl was not so subtly checking Anya out.

 

“Hey.” Raven says specifically to Anya. 

 

Lexa’s sister doesn’t seem to mind in the least, giving the girl an appraising look of her own, raising one of her eyebrows. 

 

“Hey.” she parrots. Lexa rolls her eyes, and Octavia laughs. 

 

“That’s Clarke next to her.” Octavia continues with her introductions, leaning into Raven a bit until Raven falls into the blonde girl sitting beside her. The girl hadn’t seemed to notice Anya and Lexa’s arrival, absorbed in conversation with the guy on her right. But now she looks up, bright blue eyes landing on Lexa who just happens to be the closest. 

 

Lexa stiffens slightly, not expecting the eye contact, but there it is. The blonde’s mouth slowly spreads into a smile, and her eyes briefly leave Lexa’s only to look her up and down, then meet hers again.

 

“Hi.” she finally says, thrusting her hand out “I’m Clarke Griffin.”

 

Lexa flounders for a moment, before quickly wiping her hand on her jeans and taking Clarke’s hand. They shake in that awkward way people their age do, like they don’t really know how. Though Lexa totally knows how. There had been an entire chapter on proper greetings, including handshakes, in that Communications & Diplomacy class she’s taken a couple years ago. She’d gotten an A in the course, but apparently all that went out the window around pretty girls.

 

“Hey...Lexa. I’m Lexa.” She stutters back. Clarke giggles, squeezing Lexa’s hand a little before letting go. Lexa’s cheeks turn pink, and she quickly drinks from her cup to hide it. 

 

“Anya.” Her sister says, simply pointing at herself.

 

It doesn’t seem like anyone else noticed Lexa being a gay disaster. 

 

“And the oaf on the end is my brother Bellamy.” Octavia finishes her introductions. 

 

The boy beside Clarke is about Lincoln’s age, most likely a senior. He has dark shaggy hair very similar to his sister’s and their eyes are the same deep brown, almost black. Bellamy isn’t actually sitting on the table, instead he leans against it and against Clarke. One of his arms is propped up behind the blonde, not touching her but intimate. Lexa doesn’t know why she notices, but she does.

 

“You guys go to Polis?” Bellamy asks. His voice is deep, but his tone is light.

 

“Yeah,” Anya answers sizing him up “I’m a senior, and Lexa is a junior.”

 

“You play soccer right?” Clarke pipes up, looking at Lexa intently. 

 

Lexa’s cheeks burn again for no goddamn reason.  _ That’s a totally normal question that people ask literally all the time! Stop being a dork! _ She pleads with herself.

 

“Uhh, yeah.” Hopefully she just sounds shy and not like a complete idiot.

 

“That’s cool. Raven has dragged me to a few games.”

 

“They’re called matches, Clarke.” Raven huffs, probably having corrected her friend a million times already.

 

“Yeah, whatever.” Clarke says rolling her eyes.

 

Lexa decides focusing on something other than the blonde girl is the best course of action, so she looks to Raven.

 

“You like soccer?”

 

The other girl shrugs, leaning back on her hands “Sure. I use to play when I was younger. I still follow it sometimes when school spirit strikes.”

 

Lexa nods, hoping someone will changes the subject to something that doesn’t focus on her.

 

“They call you the Commander right?” Raven asks with a teasing smile.

 

_ Goddamnit. _

 

Anya and Lincoln laugh even as Lexa scowls.

 

“Look you’re famous, sis!” Anya elbows her in the side.

 

“It’s just a stupid nickname.” Lexa says specifically to Clarke who seems amused.

 

“You must be pretty good.” Clarke concludes, looking Lexa up and down again, this time in a way that makes Lexa’s stomach clench.

 

“She’s alright.” Raven says, clearly teasing. Lexa is very good at soccer.

 

“Why don’t you play?” Anya asks Raven, trying to do her sister a favor and take some of the attention off her.

 

The rest of the table gets quiet, their smiles dimming. 

 

Raven sits up and rolls up her jeans on her left leg, revealing a black brace. 

 

The girl isn’t smiling for the first time since they approached the table, but she doesn’t look mad, just sort of solemn.

 

“It was a car accident my junior year of high school. I got in a car with someone I shouldn’t have after a party, and got screwed over.” She shrugs “It sucks.”

 

“I’m sorry.” Anya rubs nervously at the back of her neck. Lexa knows it’s a tell tell sign of a rare occasion when her sister doesn’t know what to say. 

 

Raven shrugs again, smoothing out her pants leg. “No biggie. All the good stuff is up here.” She’s smiling a little again, pointing at her temple. Lexa finds that her smile is contagious as everyone else relaxes again.

 

“Raven is an engineering major.” Octavia tells them, proudly.

 

“A total genius.” Clarke adds, bumping Raven’s shoulder.

 

“It’s true.” Raven smirks, leaning back again. They all laugh.

 

The group falls into easy conversation. Lexa mostly keeps quiet, enjoying listening to the others bicker and banter, her eyes darting to Clarke every once in a while. The blonde doesn’t seem to notice.  _ Thank God!  _

 

At one point, Lexa sees Bellamy tap on Clarke’s shoulder and whisper something in her ear. Lexa is momentarily fascinated by the way his lips brush against Clarke’s blonde waves. The pair seem to be looking at something behind Lexa, and Clarke is suddenly frowning. Lexa turns, following their gazes. Her eyes find a boy across the yard. Kinda cute, objectively, with flobby shoulder length hair and a beer in his hand. He glances over at their group even as he talks with someone else. He seems to only have eyes for Clarke.

 

Lexa turns back and finds Bellamy Blake giving the other boy a death glare, and Clarke staring pointedly at her shoes.

 

Bellamy whispers something else in Clarke’s ear. The girl responds with a shake of her head, before climbing off the picnic table.

 

“I’m gonna grab another drink.” She shakes her empty cup as way of explanation and heads towards the house. 

 

Before she even thinks about opening her mouth, Lexa hears herself say “Me too.” and follows after the blonde. 

 

Clarke stops briefly to wait for her, but doesn’t say anything.

 

In Lexa’s defense, her cup is also empty.

 

They give the long haired boy a very wide berth as they cross the yard and enter the house. To Lexa’s surprise, Clarke casually takes her hand as they enter the packed house. Clarke leads the way to the kitchen and immediately drops Lexa’s hand once they are there. Lexa tugs that hand into the pocket of her jeans, not sure what to do with it now that the blonde isn’t holding it.

 

“So Commander,” Clarke smiles as she pursues the alcohol, her voice unmistakably flirty now that they’re alone. Well, as alone as two people can be in a crowded room. “You gonna go pro or what?”

 

Lexa chuckles nervously, even though Clarke didn’t say anything particularly funny.

 

“No, definitely not. I’m just in it for the scholarship at this point.”

 

Clarke is filling their cups with vodka and punch. Way more vodka than punch. “And for the athletic figure, I’m guessing.” She checks Lexa out for the third time that night out of the corner of her eye.

 

This time Lexa manages to keep from blushing. “I like to stay fit.” She smirks at Clarke, feeling much bolder now that their friends aren’t around.

 

Clarke’s smile only widens “So what’s your major then?” Lexa opens her mouth to answer “No wait! Can I guess?” 

 

Lexa closes her mouth and gestures for Clarke to go right ahead.

 

Clarke narrows her eyes and scrutinizes Lexa, her nose scrunching up in a manner Lexa finds entirely adorable.

 

“Rehab sciences?”

 

“Nope.” 

 

“Philosophy?”

 

“Nah.”

 

“English?”

 

Lexa shakes her head. Clarke hums taking a sip of her drink.

 

“Do you give up?”

 

“Not usually no.” The tone of her voice and the way her eyebrow quirks makes Lexa wonder if they’re still talking about the guessing game.

 

“I’m actually pre-law, getting my minor in political science.”

 

“No shit?” Clarke seems genuinely surprised in a way that makes Lexa self conscious for some reason. She shrugs and sips from her drink to keep from squirming under Clarke’s gaze. “So you’re gonna rule the world someday, huh?”

 

Lexa laughs “I don’t know about that.”

 

They just stand there smiling at each other for a moment. It’s not awkward. It’s actually nice. Lexa spends a second thinking of what she wants to say next. She wants to ask Clarke if Bellamy is her boyfriend. Or if the long haired boy is her boyfriend? Or if she has a girlfriend or is maybe perhaps hopefully looking for one? Lexa desperately wishes she could be that fucking smooth. Anya is. Lexa has literally heard Anya ask a girl that and it actually worked. Coming from Lexa is would probably sound cheesy though. And besides, that’s such a line. Lexa doesn’t want to use a line. Clarke seems like a nice girl. Lines weren’t good enough.

 

Lexa is about to open her mouth to say something, anything at this point, when she feels a hand on her shoulder and hears someone call her name.

 

She turns to find her friend Echo behind her, looking understandably surprised to find her here. Lexa hardly ever goes to parties, and she most definitely doesn’t go to Arker parties. Echo would know this well, since they’d been roommates at Polis their freshman year. They were still good friends, though they didn’t see as much of each other anymore.

 

“Who dragged you out of your cave? Was it Anya? Is your hot sister here somewhere?” Echo pulls Lexa into a hug.

 

“You stay away from my sister.” Lexa grumbles.

 

Echo only laughs “What are you doing at an Arker party? Or, ya know, any party?”

 

Lexa rolls her eyes. So she was a bit of a hermit, there was no need for everyone to keep pointing it out. “I could ask you the same question.”

 

“A guy I’ve been talking to invited me. He goes here unfortunately.”

 

Lexa quirks an eyebrow and smirks “Talking to?” she asks suggestively.

 

Echo rolls her eyes and swats at Lexa “It’s undefined.”

 

“Riiight.”

 

Lexa feels something touch her elbow and is surprised to find Clarke still standing beside her. She had momentarily forgotten the girl existed and now felt awful for being so rude. She’s about to apologize and introduce Clarke to Echo, when the music suddenly gets turned up too loud, causing them all to wince. 

 

“I’m gonna head back outside!” Clarke shouts as the music persists. 

 

Someone in the next room shouts “This is my jam!”

 

Clarke doesn’t look angry or offended. She’s holding two cups now, one full of beer. 

 

“If I don’t get this drink to Bellamy, he’ll send out a search party.”

 

With that Clarke disappears back into the party. Lexa turns back to Echo and easily gets caught up in the party, hanging out with Echo and a few of her friends for awhile before venturing back outside to find Anya.

 

The group seems to have dispersed.  She finds the picnic table occupied by Bellamy, Octavia, and two guys they introduce as Jasper and Monty. Anya and Lincoln are on the other side of the yard next to a firepit with Raven and a few strangers. She doesn’t see Clarke anywhere.

 

“Hey, where did you disappear to?” Anya asks, linking her arm with Lexa’s and pulling her close.

 

“I ran into Echo inside and hung out for a bit. Sorry.”

 

“You ready to bail?” Anya chugs what’s left of her drink and throws the cup in the fire.

 

“Yes, please.” Lex nods, doing the same.

 

Anya taps Lincoln on the shoulder and tells him they’re leaving. He gives them both brief one armed hugs.

 

“Thanks for venturing out with me.”

 

“Anytime.” Anya tells him “Thanks for the invite.”

 

As they turn to leave, Raven waves and shoots Anya a flirty smile.

 

“Come see us again, Grounder Girls!”

 

Anya winks at her. Honest to God winks! And manages to make it look cool. Raven laughs wholeheartedly, tossing her head back in amusement.

 

“I don’t know how you do it.” Lexa mumbles, shaking her head.

 

Anya smirks and shrugs “When are you just going to accept that I’m awesome?”

 

“When you stop proclaiming it constantly.” They laugh and elbow each other as they make their way around the clubhouse and to the street. 

 

They’re walking back to Anya’s car, when Lexa notices Clarke.

 

The girl is laying on the hood of a car all alone looking up at the sky. Lexa frowns.

 

“Lexa, what’s up?” Anya is a few paces ahead of her, pulling the car keys out of her coat pocket.

 

Lexa hesitates, watching Clarke as she lazily brings a cup to her lips and takes a sip without sitting up.

 

“You go on ahead.” Lexa tells Anya. “I’ll catch up in a sec.”

 

Anya shrugs “Alright.”

 

Lexa shoves her hands into the pockets of her jeans and makes her way over to Clarke. She approaches cautiously, not sure what to say. She finally settles on…

 

“Hey.”

 

Clarke lets her head roll to the side looking at Lexa sideways.

 

“Hello.”

 

That doesn’t give Lexa much to work with. She steps a little closer.

 

“Are you okay?”

 

The blonde shrugs her shoulders, making an “Eh” face, before looking back up at the sky.

 

“I’m hiding.”

 

Lexa nods like she understands, then realizes she actually doesn’t.

 

“From what?”

 

Clarke breathes out a heavy sigh. “Old bullshit drama.”

 

Lexa nods again. She thinks about the long-haired boy from the backyard, and can’t help but wonder what the history is.

 

“You aren’t going to drive are you?” Lexa asks, carefully. Clarke was slurring her words a little, and she seemed to be dozing a bit on the hood of the car.

 

Shaking her head a little too vigorously, Clarke sighs again. “Nah, I’m a pretty shit driver when I’m sober, so…” She laughs a little, just a huff of a thing, but it makes Lexa smile.

 

“Do you need a ride somewhere? Or do you want me to go get one of your friends?” She doesn’t feel right leaving the girl out here alone, drunk, and in the dark.

 

“No, I’ll go back in soon. Just needed a minute.”

 

When Lexa doesn’t make to leave, Clarke looks over at her again, a little smile on her lips. 

 

“You’re sweet to worry about me.”

 

Lexa blushes, but remains standing there. Clarke laughs, realizing Lexa isn’t gonna leave her alone. She sits up and runs a hand through her messy blonde hair. She chugs the rest of her drink, then looks at the bottom of the cup with a pout. 

 

“See I’m up, I promise. I have to go back inside for more nectar.” Clarke smiles and giggles at herself. It finally reassures Lexa.

 

“Alright, I’ll leave you alone now.” Lexa starts walking backwards towards Anya’s car.

 

“It was nice meeting you, Commander Lexa.” Clarke shouts with a wave of her hand. “Maybe we’ll see each other around.” 

 

Lexa doubts it, but she certainly hopes so.

 

“Goodnight, Clarke.”

 

Lexa finally turns on her heels and jogs to Anya’s car, where her sister is waiting, having watched their entire exchange from over the top of the car.

 

Anya raises her eyebrow in question, a knowing smirk on her face.

 

“What?” Lexa asks, feigning innocence. 

 

“Seriously?” 

 

Lexa glares at her “Oh, shut up!” She opens the car door and climbs in, barely catching Anya’s teasing…

 

“Whatever you say, Commander.”


	2. Chapter 2

Clarke’s head was pounding and she regretted everything.

 

The sound of Bellamy harshly laying on the horn again, basically split Clarke’s head right down the middle. She groans in the passenger seat, trying to muster the strength to slap the shit out of him.

 

“What the fuck is taking so long? Did she text you?”

 

Clarke starts to shake her head no, but quickly realizes that might result in her barfing all over Bellamy’s precious Range Rover.

 

“Phone’s dead.” She says instead, her voice hoarse and yet somehow entirely too loud. Bellamy huffs in annoyance, staring daggers at Lincoln’s front door. Clarke lays her head back and closes her eyes.

 

They were parked by the curb outside Lincoln’s house waiting to pick Octavia up at six goddamn thirty in the morning. They had all partied just a bit too hard last night. Clarke by far the hardest. She had ended up crashing at Bellamy’s apartment, while Octavia had gone home with Lincoln, and Raven had completely abandoned all of them to finally take home Kyle Wick after weeks of not so subtle flirting. 

 

Octavia had called and woken them about a half hour earlier, begging for a ride back to campus for her early morning class. And Bellamy had work at seven thirty which meant Clarke had to come with so he could drop her off at her and Raven’s place beforehand. That’s how Clarke ended up here, with a very disgruntled Bellamy Blake and a wicked hangover, praying for the sweet release of death.

 

“Hey, Clarke, don’t look now, but-”

 

“Okay, I won’t.” Clarke squeezes her eyes more tightly shut in defiance, since her sunglasses can’t seem to do their one job.

 

“Hot joggers at eleven o'clock and coming in fast.” Bellamy informs her with an inappropriate amount of glee for so early in the morning.

 

Despite her better judgement, Clarke peeks open one eye.

 

Two girls were running up the sidewalk on their left, coming straight towards them. Bellamy was right, they were both really attractive. Both had their hair pulled back in ponytails that swung from side to side with the rhythm of their strides, the synchronicity was impressive. One was wearing a dark gray tank top and basketball shorts, while the other did them all the huge favor of only wearing a black sports bra and sweatpants. The second girl had long brown hair and abs for days. Sweat was coating every beautiful inch of her, and for a second Clarke couldn’t regret whatever poor life choices had led her to this particular moment in time.

 

She has apparently been staring for a minute, because Bellamy nudges her shoulder and chuckles.

 

“You’re such a perv, Princess!”

 

Clarke rolls her eyes and leans back again with a scoff.

 

“I’m not a perv, just a person with eyes. Is she seriously running around looking like that without a shirt on? She could hurt someone.”

 

Bellamy chuckles again, a deep rich sound that Clarke has always loved. He shrugs his shoulders.

 

“Hey, if you’ve got it flaunt it.”

 

Clarke snorts “Right, coming from Mr. I-Can’t-Find-My-Shirt himself!”

 

Bellamy just grins, still looking at the joggers.

 

If she was even just slightly less hungover, or perhaps if the sun had been at a different angle, it wouldn’t have taken Clarke so long to recognize them. But it’s not until the joggers start to slow and come to a stop beside the Range Rover just outside Lincoln’s house that Clarke realizes who they’ve been ogling. 

 

Bellamy must recognize them too. He rolls down his window, the two girls giving him a suspicious look before recognition relaxes their features.

 

“Oh, hey.” The dirty blonde says. Anya, Clarke thinks her name is. And the shirtless brunette is Lexa. Lincoln’s cousins. “We know you, right?”

 

“What’s up?” Bellamy hangs his arm out the window and gives a little wave. “You’re friends with Lincoln, right?”

 

Anya shrugs, still breathing heavily from their run. “Cousins, actually.”

 

Bellamy nods “Right, right. I’m Bellamy, Octavia’s brother. And this is-”

 

“Clarke.” Lexa suddenly speaks from around Anya “We met a few weeks ago.”

 

Her sister gives her a funny look and Bellamy raises a suggestive eyebrow at Clarke.

 

“Hey.” Clarke gives them a half-hearted wave, laying back in her seat again. The conversation wasn’t helping her hangover and it was altogether easier not to stare at Lexa’s abs if she just closed her eyes entirely.

 

“Don’t mind her. She's not a morning person.” 

 

“Clearly.” Anya mutters.

 

“I don’t hate the morning, the morning hates me.” Clarke declares without opening her eyes.

 

“So whatcha doing here?” She hears Anya ask.

 

“Picking up my sister. Oh, and speak of the devil…”

 

Clarke looks up then to see that Octavia and Lincoln have finally emerged from the house and are now whispering goodbyes on the porch. The farewell goes on a bit too long and when they start making out Bellamy loses his patience again. He honks the horn a few times and shouts.

 

“What the fuck, O?”

 

Clarke lays a hand on his shoulder.

 

“Bell, I love you, but if you touch that horn one more time, it’ll be the last thing you ever hear.”

 

“Noted.” He grumbles.

 

Anya chuckles at their banter. “We’re here to pick up Lincoln. We all run together a few times a week.”

 

“That’s some interesting family bonding.” Bellamy gives a half laugh and a smile.

 

Lexa speaks up again from where she’s started doing stretches on the sidewalk. Clarke is most definitely not watching her from behind her sunglasses.

 

“We all like to stay in shape.”

 

“And it doesn’t require too much talking.” Anya adds with a smirk.

 

Just then Octavia finally extracts herself from Lincoln and bounds down the porch steps.

 

“Maybe next time try exerting even an ounce of patient, Bell.” She growls, pulling open the back door and climbing in the rover. 

 

“Next time? How about next time you try exerting a little self-control and forgo the five minute face-sucking session?” He is not amused. Clarke has to bite her lip to hide a smile.

 

“Oh you’re just jealous, because I got laid last night and you didn’t.”

 

Bellamy blanches and scowls into the rearview mirror “You have no idea what I did or did not do last night!” It’s thin and Octavia sees right through it. She leans forward with a grin.

 

“Clarke, did Bellamy get laid last night?”

 

Clarke stifles a giggle “I’m afraid not. He struck out.” 

 

Octavia laughs, sitting back in her seat with a triumphant grin. 

 

“Yeah, and whose fault is that?” Bellamy roughly takes the rover out of park as Clarke ruffles his hair. She may have accidential cockblocked the elder Blake last night, with her drunken antics. He had halted his conquest of Gina, a girl from his Mythology class, in order to take care of her. And this is how Clarke choses to repay him for that kindness.

 

He pulls away from the curb, remembering to throw a “See ya around.” out the window at the last second, nearly forgetting about Lincoln’s cousins.

 

Clarke is still laughing at him, as they drive away, even as she glances back to see Lexa give them a small wave.

 

\--------------

 

“What are you doing?” Anya shoves her shoulder a bit, making Lexa wobble on her feet.

 

Lexa drops her hand, feeling silly for waving.

 

“Just- I was...Nothing.”

 

Anya eyes her skeptically “Why are you acting so weird?”

 

Turning away from her annoyingly perceptive sister to hide the faint blush on her cheeks, Lexa finds Lincoln sitting on the porch steps tugging his shoes on.

 

“Hurry up, my heart rate is gonna fall.” 

 

There was little chance of that. Seeing Clarke Griffin again just now had done strange things to Lexa’s insides. Her stomach flipped a bit and her heart, which had already been pounding from the exercise, went into overdrive.

 

She barely knew the girl and yet the way Clarke looked there in the passenger seat, grumpy, her hair still sleep tousled, and her eyes hidden behind those sunglasses. Something about the image turned Lexa into a bumbling idiot with the vocabulary of a kindergardener.

 

The beautiful blonde had probably been too indifferent to notice, but Anya was certainly not.

 

Lincoln finishes tying his laces and bounds down the sidewalk towards them, a megawatt smile on his face.

 

“And a good morning to you too, Lexa.”

 

Lexa rolls her eyes at his good mood. Luckily she can always count on Anya to help rain on a parade.

 

“We didn’t all deflower a freshman last night, Lincoln.” She says dryly.

 

“Eww!” I shriek as Lincoln groans Anya’s name in exasperation.

 

“I didn’t deflower her.” Lincoln asserts “And she’s nineteen! She took a gap year. Stop making it creepy.”

 

“Alright, alright. Jeez.” Anya concedes as the three of them start walking down the sidewalk 

 

“I can assure you that Octavia is far from inexperienced.” 

 

“Ew!” Anya and I groan in unison.

 

Lincoln chuckles and picks up our pace into a jog. 

 

“I think, Lexa is crushing on Octavia’s friend.” Anya says, smirking at Lexa.

 

Lincoln’s brow furrows as he glances at Lexa.

 

“Really? Which one?”

 

Anya doesn’t give Lexa a chance to answer, not that she planned on saying anything anyway.

 

“The blonde.”

 

Lexa picks up her speed suddenly, pulling ahead of them and yelling back. “Can we not talk about this?”

 

“Hey, whoa, Lexa, wait up!” They struggle to catch up to her, and she tosses her head back laughing.

 

“Less talking, more running, please!”

 

A race is a surefire way to distract Anya and Lincoln, and by the end of their run, they’ve forgotten all about her maybe-crush on Clarke Griffin. Unfortunately, Lexa can’t say the same.


	3. Chapter 3

Something explodes and it’s so loud Lexa actually jumps. Anya curses and frantically taps away at the Xbox controller in her hand.

 

“Anya, will you turn that down, please? I feel like we’re in Kabul.”

 

“Normandy, actually.” Anya mutters, turning the tv down only slightly.

 

Lexa is stretched out on the couch, with her laptop, trying to work on a research paper.

 

Her feet are probed in Anya’s lap as her sister vehemently plays Call of Duty, cursing intermediately and at times using her entire body to play. While this wasn’t the most serene way to do schoolwork, Lexa finds her sister’s presence and the chaos of the game in the background strangely comforting.

 

Several tabs were open on her computer. One was the assignment rubric. Two is her six page word document that she needed to get to ten pages (at least). The next three are the research materials she’s referencing throughout her paper. And lastly, she has a tab opened to Facebook. 

 

She convinces herself she’ll just take a little break. Mindlessly, scroll through social media for a few minutes to clear her head, then bang out the rest of this paper.

 

It isn’t due for another week, but Lexa likes to get things over and done with. It’s always better to stay ahead of a deadline. Besides, what else does she have to do? Rage out on video games like Anya?

 

Through a series of unfortunate clicks, mutual friends and whatnot, Lexa finds herself looking at Clarke Griffin’s Facebook timeline.

 

_ Don’t scroll down. Don’t scroll down. Don’t scroll down. _

 

She scrolls down.

 

Most of the timeline consists of articles, memes, funny videos, and pictures. So many pictures.

 

Clarke getting a piggyback ride from Bellamy Blake. The shaggy haired boy has a huge grin on his face, hefting her weight effortlessly. Clarke has her eyes closed, laughing. One of her arms wrapped around his neck and the other thrown up into the air like she’s riding a mechanical bull.

 

Another is of Clarke and her friend Raven. They are obviously at some party, solo cups in their hands, and their arms draped around each others’ shoulders.

 

Right after that, is a similar picture, probably the same party. But this time Octavia is between them, looking ecstatic as Raven holds bunny ears behind her head and Clarke rolls her eyes.

 

The next one was posted by Raven, but the picture is only of Clarke. The blonde is sprawled in bed, a pillow pulled over her head, giving the camera the middle finger. The caption says:  _ We’re late for class, so I had to poke the bear! _

 

Lexa finds herself smiling so she scrolls further.

 

Clarke standing on a street. A cheering crowd behind her and a beaming Raven next to her. Clarke is bent over, her hands on her knees breathing heavily and sweating. She’s wearing a white sleeveless t-shirt and running shorts, her hair pulled back in a messy bun. The post is linked to some event page for a marathon for people with disabilities. In the comments, Raven says:  _ My very out of shape hero! *with a heart eyes emoji* _ . Clarke responded with:  _ You know there’s no one else I’d willingly exercise for, right?  _ Raven only response with a *kissy face emoji*

 

The next photo was posted by Bellamy Blake, but its only of Clarke. She sits on a stool in a well lite room, in front of an easel. The painting is hidden by Clarke’s body as she turns slightly towards the camera, offering a bright smile. She is covered in blue and pink paint. It’s even gotten in her hair and on her clothes. The picture has a Tumblr link attached.

 

Lexa falls further down the rabbit hole as she clicks it, opening a new tab.

 

The tumblr url is wanhedawhateverthatmeans.tumblr.com

 

The blog mainly consists of photos of paintings and articles about art exhibits, there is some analysis and debate, even some original work Lexa recognizes by Clarke’s signature at the bottom.

 

She’s not sure how long she zones out looking at Clarke’s blog, but she is so immersed in her cyberstalking, she doesn’t notice Anya pause her game.

 

“What are you doing over there?”

 

This snaps Lexa out of her Clarke induced haze. She blinks up at her sister, fighting a blush.

 

“Um...nothing. Schoolwork?” The question in her voice gives her away.

 

She sees the mischievous glint in Anya’s eye only a split second before Anya snatchs her laptop away.

 

Lexa scrambles after it futility. She falls half on top of Anya, reaching for the computer, but it’s too late. Anya clicks over to the Facebook tab and barks out a laugh.

 

“Are you scoping that Arker girl on social media?”

 

“No!” Lexa says indignantly, even though...yes, of course, that’s exactly what she’d been doing.

 

Anya just chuckles and scrolls up and down the timeline a bit “Yes, you are, actually.”

 

She finally hands the laptop back to Lexa, who huffs in annoyance and embarrassment. She settles back on her side of the couch and quickly closes the social media tabs, even though it’s too late to hide them. She avoids her sister’s curious gaze.

 

“She’s hot.” Anya offers approvingly. A sort of olive branch for teasing.

 

“Yes, she is.” Lexa grumbles, pretending to get back to her research paper.

 

Anya shrugs “Why don’t you like...I don’t know, talk to her or something? Ask her out.”

 

Lexa arches an eyebrow. “Ask her out?” She ask skeptically. 

 

With a roll of her eyes and another shrug of her shoulders Anya says “Well, yeah, I don’t know. What do the kids do these days? Can you friend her on Facebook?”

 

Lexa looks at her sister like she’s got the IQ of a potato. 

 

“First of all, you’re only two years older than me. And second of all, friend her on Facebook? What is this 2011?”

 

“Alright, alright, damn. Touchy.”

 

They are quiet for a few minutes and Lexa thinks that’s the end of it. But Anya hasn’t restarted her game yet.

 

“What if you asked Lincoln to-”

 

“Can we just drop it?” Lexa hisses, then instantly feels bad for snapping. She softens her voice and gives Anya a pleading look. “Please? I just...I was just curious and I got distracted.”

 

Something in her voice prompts a sympathetic look from her sister. Anya pulls her legs up onto the couch and turns to face her, resting a comforting hand on Lexa’s knee.

 

“You know, it’s okay to get distracted every once in a while, Lexa. Maybe even healthy.”

 

“I’m fine.” is Lexa's well worn response to Anya's concern about her strenuously scheduled life. “I don’t have time to date, you know that. And besides...I just need to focus. Okay?”

 

Anya’s lips press together like she wants to object, but resists. “Okay.” She finally turns back to the tv and picks up the Xbox controller. Lexa is grateful. 

 

As difficult as her jam-packed life may be right now, with school and soccer, Lexa really did thrive off the structure and activity. She enjoyed having something to do and somewhere to be. It brought out the best in her, on the field and in the classroom. It would help her get where she wanted to be.

 

“You know, what might help you focus?” Anya breaks the comfortable silence they’d fallen back into.

 

Lexa looks up cautiously “What?”

 

“Getting laid.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is turning into a little bit of a slow burn (sorry about that), not extremely slow though. Just kinda slow haha

The Conclave is just beginning to come to life as Clarke enters. A half decent dive bar on the Grounder side of town, The Conclave is popular among the Polis upperclassmen and locals. It isn’t so flashy as to attract flocks of freshmen like some of the clubs around town. It’s just a good place to unwind on the weekends with cheap beer and plenty of pool tables. Sometimes they even had local bands perform. 

 

Clarke hadn’t come for any of that though. She is here for the girl behind the bar.

 

It’s only nearing 6:30pm so students are just now beginning to trickle in for the night, and some older locals just off work are settling in at the bar. The place isn’t too busy yet, but in three or four hours it’ll be hard to find a table and the band will have started to play. Clarke will be long gone by then.

 

Niylah is in the middle of loading a tray of beers when she spots Clarke approaching the bar. She tries to suppress a small smile, but Clarke catches it, her own lips quirking up.

 

Handing the tray off to a co-worker, Niylah gives Clarke a once over and a nod in greeting. This only makes Clarke smile more broadly, the fact that Niylah is pretending she isn’t happy to see her. 

 

Clarke clasps her hands in front of her, bending over the bar, her v-neck t-shirt no doubt doing wonders for her cleavage. She gives Niylah a wicked grin.

 

“Hey.”

 

Niylah’s eyes dart briefly to Clarke’s chest even as she scoffs. 

 

“Is this the best you got today, Clarke? A grin and a low-cut blouse. Am I that easy?”

 

Clarke holds her gaze unfazed by Niylah feigned disinterest. 

 

“I don’t know.” She quirks her eyebrow and bites her lower lip. “Are you?”

 

Cleaning a glass and rolling her eyes, Niylah smiles to herself. She walks away to fill another drink order for some guys watching tv at the end of the bar. 

 

“What time do you get off?” Clarke asks once Niylah returns to her. 

“You wouldn’t be here if you didn’t already know.” Niylah assumes correctly. 

 

Clarke shrugs and leans closer, halfway across the bar, lowering her voice. “Ten minutes? There’s a frozen pizza and a terrible horror movie waiting back at my place.”

 

Niylah looks at Clarke closely for a moment, contemplating. 

 

This was a familiar dance for them. Clarke had met Niylah at this very same bar at the beginning of the summer when a Polis boy had taken Clarke on a truly miserable date. The guy had been a dud, but Niylah was the cute bartender that came to Clarke’s rescue. They’d started seeing each other in a strictly casual arrangement. Neither one of them were particularly looking for a relationship and Niylah seemed wary of dating someone several years younger. They got along well and the sex was pretty hot. They spent sleepy mornings in bed, late nights watching bad movies. It wasn’t all about sex, but they both knew it lacked something more. 

 

Clarke showing up here at the bar looking for a hookup isn’t unusual, and Niylah playing coy isn’t either. So Clarke waits, patient and playful, as Niylah makes up her mind.

 

Finally, Niylah glances at the clock behind the bar and with a sly smile says “Ten minutes.”

 

Clarke winks at her, finally earning a full laugh from Niylah.

 

“Do you want something to drink?” Niylah asks. 

 

Shaking her head, Clarke takes a seat at the end of the bar “Nope, I’ll just watch you work.”

 

Niylah rolls her eyes again and leaves her to tend to other customers. 

 

Clarke pulls out her phone and texts Raven to warn her about their impending houseguest. 

 

**Me: Hey, you’re hanging with Wick tonight right?**

 

**Raven:** **In the process of kicking his ass in Mortal Kombat rn. Why?**

 

**Me: Movie night w/ Niylah**

 

**Raven: “Movie Night” right. Have you guys ever actually made it through a movie without jumping each other?**

 

**Me: *eyeroll* Are you going to make yourself scarce or not?**

 

**Raven: *middle finger* yea no worries. I was already planning on crashing at Wick’s. This game is actually meant to decide who buys breakfast *winky face* Enjoy your “movie”**

 

**Me: Enjoy your free breakfast! You’re a beast at Mortal Kombat**

 

**Raven: haha yea Wick didn’t know that when he took the bet *winky face***

 

Clarke is chuckling to herself and imagining all the different games at which Raven is likely to hussle Wick, when some uproarious whooping to her right catches her attention. 

 

Halfway across the bar, gathered around a pool table and taking up two booths is a large group of Polis girls. They’re all attractive and athletic wearing various combinations of Polis University sportswear. At just a glance, Clarke can discern that they are the Polis University Women’s Soccer Team. 

 

Clarke is fairly certain there wasn’t a game tonight so they must be letting off some steam after practice. Several of the girls are playing pool, sipping on beers, and scarfing down appetizers. Someone must have just performed a trick shot, which prompted the obnoxious whooping. 

 

She wouldn’t normally give the group a second look except one of the girls playing pool looks vaguely familiar. It’s as though the girl can feel her staring, looking up to meet Clarke’s eyes across the bar.

 

_ Oh. _

 

The girl is Lexa. Lincoln’s cousin from that party a few weeks ago. 

 

Here she seems to be in her element. Like the rest of the girls, Lexa is dressed in the school colors. A dark red sleeveless hoodie with her jersey number on the front and black gym shorts. She’s leaning lazily on her poolstick watching the game as her teammate takes a shot. Her long brown hair falling over her shoulders and across her face. Another one of her teammates is leaning on Lexa, her arm thrown over the girl’s shoulders even though Lexa is significantly taller than her. The girl whispers something in Lexa’s ear, laughing, but Lexa is distracted. Her green eyes focused on Clarke.

 

They stare at each other for too long, a little smile forming on Clarke’s lips. She lifts her hand slightly, giving an awkward wave. 

 

Lexa’s eyes widen and her mouth falls open like she’s been snapped out of a trance. At that exact moment, her teammate shoves her playfully and indicates that it’s her turn to shoot. Lexa smiles at the teasing, but her eyes dart anxiously back to Clarke before she moves to take her shot.

 

Clarke watches with interest, as Lexa studies the table carefully and stalks around it to get the best angle. She watches as Lexa bends over the table, flipping her hair out of her face, and lining up her shot.

 

Once again Lexa looks up, making eye contact with Clarke, as she jabs the pool stick forward and sinks the eight ball, winning the game. The team whoops again, boasting and bickering over the game even as they give Lexa a pat on the back. But Lexa’s eyes never leave Clarke’s as she straightens up and smiles.

 

Clarke feels a very sudden and sharp jolt of arousal shoot through her entire body.

 

_ Holy shit _

 

She blushes, feeling that the room is most definitely warmer than it was five minutes before. She quickly turns away from the soccer players, slightly overwhelmed by her reaction to...well to that. 

 

Clarke runs her hand through her hair and takes a deep breath to calm herself.

 

“Hi!”

 

Lexa is suddenly beside her, leaning against the bar, staring at Clarke expectantly. 

 

Clarke’s eyes go wide in surprise. She hadn’t expected the girl to be so bold, considering how shy she’d been when they first met at that party. Though she supposed saying hi wasn’t particularly bold, outside the context of Clarke’s intense attraction to her. Which Lexa might not be entirely aware of. 

 

“Hey.” Clarke sort of laughs, feeling flustered. 

 

“Are you lost? This isn’t your usual side of town.” Lexa says, studying Clarke’s face closely. Clarke thinks she may have been drinking, which would explain her courage. 

 

“Sorry, Commander, I didn’t realize you were on guard.” Clarke teases, just managing to hold back a smirk.

 

Lexa seems to catch on to her humor slowly, a smile spreading across her face in slow motion, as her eyes dart to Clarke’s mouth. 

 

“I’m not.” She chuckles “I just...I saw you sitting here and I just- Well, I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”

 

Clarke narrows her eyes, leaning towards Lexa a little.

 

“Where did you expect to see me?”

 

This proximity and Clarke’s borderline flirty tone fluster Lexa. Her face turns slightly pink and she glances away, laughing nervously. Just like that the tables have turned and Clarke is in control again. 

 

“Oh well, you know, just-” Lexa stutters “...around?”

 

Clarke bites her lower lip to suppress a smile at the adorable way Lexa’s voice rises at the end like a question. But before she can come up with a reply, Niylah is there asking Lexa “Another round for your table, Commander?”

 

Lexa startles at the question, turning on her stool to face Niylah, running a hand through her hair nervously.

 

“Umm, yes. Yes, Niylah, thanks. Another round and some more mozzarella sticks would be great.”

 

Niylah shouts the order over her shoulder to the other bartender. 

 

“Nyko is going to take care of you guys, okay? I’m getting out of here.” Niylah glances at Clarke and smiles as she says this to Lexa then “I’ll just be a minute, Clarke. I gotta grab my jacket from the back.”

 

Niylah disappears behind the bar, leaving Clarke and Lexa alone again. 

 

“You know Niylah.” Lexa says a bit awkwardly, no longer looking at Clarke. Instead she fiddles nervously with her fingers.

 

Clarke nods “Yeah, um, we’re friends.”

 

Lexa nods too. A beat of awkward silence. 

 

“I didn’t know Grounders and Arkers could be friends.” 

 

Lexa says it as a joke, not everyone takes the school rivarily seriously. Mostly just jocks and freshman. In a city this small, there’s no way the Grounder and Arker worlds couldn’t overlap.

 

Shrugging slightly, Clarke smiles and says “That’s what can happen if you wander into the wrong side of town.”

 

Lexa smiles back. “You know, to us, yours is the wrong side, right?” She teases. 

 

“Ha! Yes, of course. I suppose, it’s all a matter of perspective.”

 

Lexa hums in agreement, eyes still focused on her hands.

 

Niylah reappears a bag slung over her shoulder, she comes around the bar to stand beside Clarke.

 

“Ready?”

 

Clarke nods and climbs off the bar stool. 

 

“Yep.”

 

“Have a good night, Lexa.” Niylah says with a friendly smile, clearly familiar with the soccer star.

 

“Night.” Lexa says halfheartedly, avoiding Clarke’s eye.

 

“Maybe I’ll see you.” Clarke says as she and Niylah turn to go. “You know...around.”

 

She offers a teasing smile, earning a more timid one from Lexa in return. 

 

“I’d like that.” The brunette nods. The other bartender shows up with her tray of drinks and Lexa turns to take it. 

 

Clarke and Niylah head for the door, Niylah slipping her hand into Clarke’s.

 

“So what movie did you have in mind?”

 

Clarke shrugs, pushing aside her unexpected interaction with Lexa to focus on her night with Niylah. 

 

She smiles wickedly and whispers “Honestly, I hadn’t given it much thought at all.” 


	5. Chapter 5

Lexa feels like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders.

 

Soccer practice ran nearly two hours late due to Coach’s growing anxiety about the upcoming Homecoming game. They ran extra drills and suicides per Coach’s barked instructions, on top of their normal practice, and Lexa’s morning run with Anya and Lincoln.

 

Her body is aching and protesting every movement as a result.

 

Because practice ran late, she hadn’t been able to spend the evening at the Youth Center volunteering like she planned. Breaking yet another promise to Aden and Madi.

 

She tried to make time in her schedule to volunteer at the local Youth Center at least three times a week. It had been more like two lately. The center did some great outreach for homeless or trouble kids and teens in the area, a cause very close to Lexa’s heart. She tutors, and coaches, and just spends time there with the kids, so they know someone gives a shit. Lately, it probably seemed like Lexa gave about as much of a shit as their absent parents did. 

 

In addition to that, she was also unusually behind on her schoolwork. Not dangerously behind, in fact not actually behind at all according to the syllabi, but still not as far ahead as she’d like to be .

 

Trouging down the hallway towards the apartment she shares with Anya, Lex is carrying her large workout duffle from practice, a backpack full of textbooks and research, as well as the chinese takeout she snagged on the way home for her and Anya.

 

Once she’s at the apartment door her body gives out. Both bags slip from her shoulders and hit the floor with solid thuds as Lexa slumps against the wall and digs her keys out of her pocket.

 

With one final surge of effort Lexa heaves up her bags and kicks open the door. She kicks it so hard that it swings open wildly and bangs against the wall.

 

As she stumbles over the threshold and into the apartment, she’s met with the sound of shot glasses hitting the countertop triumphantly.

 

Anya and Lincoln are at the kitchen island with Octavia Blake and Raven Reyes. The four of them had just finished enthusiastically taking shots, and now they all turn to look at Lexa and her heavy load of responsibilities with slightly silly smiles and a chorus of “Heyyy!”

 

Octavia Blake was not such a strange sight at their apartment these days, often accompanying Lincoln to movie nights or study sessions. Lexa didn’t much mind the younger girl’s company, they got along well enough, and she certainly seemed to make Lincoln happy. Raven Reyes on the other hand was something of a surprise. The last time she’d seen Raven was at the Arcadia party Anya had dragged her to nearly a month ago. The same party where she met Clarke.

 

Raven is giving her a big smile, obviously recognizing her, even as she takes in Lexa’s weary expression and numerous bags.

 

“Hey there, Commander, you’re really living that college life, aren’t ya?” Raven greets her.

 

“Oh yeah. You betcha!” Lexa groans, dumbing her duffle bag by the door and setting the chinese takeout on the counter. “It’s all very glamorous.”

 

“You look like you need a break.” Octavia says, sympathetically.

 

“No,” Anya refills her shot glass and puts it in front of Lexa “you look like you need a shot!”

 

“Or five!” Raven says as Anya refills hers too.

 

The flirtatious smile they share and the almost nonexistent space between them, signals to Lexa that they’d already had a few drinks before she arrived. She pushes the shot glass back across to Anya.

 

“I can’t tonight.”

 

They all immediately respond with a resounding “Booo!”

 

“Come on, Lexa.” Anya whines “This is just the pre-party! We’re meeting some friends down at The Dropship later.”

 

“It’s gonna be a good time.” Raven assures her, knocking back her shot.

 

Lexa grabs a couple of cartons of chinese food and heads for her room.

 

“No way. You guys, have fun though. Call me if you need a ride home.”

 

She closes her bedroom door behind her, but can still hear there muffled voices through the wall. She sets her food down at her desk along with her backpack, and starts to change clothes. 

 

Lexa is barely out of her shirt when Anya bursts in, without knocking.

 

“I’m busy.” Lexa says preemptively, as she goes about getting undressed.

 

Anya closes the door behind her and makes a pouty face. It should be noted that Anya isn’t very good at pouting and only really attempts it when she’s been drinking. But nonetheless, just the fact that Anya cares enough to try pouting is enough to pull at Lexa’s resolve.

 

“Come on, Sis. You’re always busy and you need a break. Even Octavia said so.”

 

“Octavia is a freshman. She has the luxury of breaks.” Lexa grumbles, digging through a laundry basket of clean clothes for her favorite study pants. “I just want to sit here, eat chinese, and do some homework. No people. No loud music. No guys hitting on me.”

 

“I can change your mind.” Anya says, certainly.

 

Lexa huffs a laugh “Okay, I’m listening.” She was in fact, not listening. She was clumsily pulling on her study pants while trying to decide which homework to start on first.

 

“Clarke Griffin will be there.”

 

Lexa trips and tumbles over onto her bed, her pants only halfway on.

 

Anya grins down at her.

 

Lexa’s hair is still slightly damp from the shower she took after practice, as she nervously runs her hand through it, trying to hide her obvious interest.

 

Finally she says, “This feels like a trick.”

 

“I shit you not.” Anya says, sitting down on the bed next to Lexa. “Raven said Clarke had some stuff to do, but that she’d meet us at The Dropship around ten.”

 

“It doesn’t matter.” Lexa tells her quietly, as she stares up at the ceiling.

 

Anya pokes her hard in the side “You. Like. Her.”

 

Lexa squirms out of Anya’s reach and stands up, pulling her pants the rest of the way on.

 

“I-Yeah, maybe. Okay? I like her. But it doesn’t matter! Because I don’t have time for any of...that. And besides, I’m pretty sure she’d already involved with someone, so it doesn’t-”

 

“I...may have snooped a little on your behalf.” Anya interjects with an only slightly guilty smile. Lexa rounds on her, eyes wide.

 

“Please, Anya, tell me you didn’t.”

 

Anya holds her thumb and forefinger about an inch apart and says “Just a little. And I was super subtle!”

 

Lexa throws her hands up in exasperation “Oh, sure you were!”

 

“I was!” Anya insists. “Octavia says that Clarke and Bellamy are definitely not a thing. She assured me. She laughed at the idea actually. Said they did a lot of flirting in high school, but it never led anywhere. As far as she knows.”

 

“That sounds like more than a little snooping to me, Anya.” Lexa groans, flopping down on the bed again.

 

“And Raven said-”

 

“Oh God! You talked to Raven too!” Lexa flips over face down into a pillow.

 

“Stop being such a baby. I can be sneaky.” Anya tells her.

 

Lexa turns her head slightly so she can speak (and breathe).

 

“Anya, I love you. But you are about as subtle as a brick through a window.”

 

Her sister smacks her on the ass “Do you want to know this or not?”

 

Lexa just turns her face back into the pillow and Anya takes that as permission to continue talking.

 

“Anyway, Raven said that Clarke hasn’t really been exclusive with anyone since she came to school. She keeps things casual. Which basically means she’s fair game. You have a shot, Lexa!”

 

“I don’t want a shot! I don’t need a shot!” Lexa whines, turning over “We shouldn’t even be talking about this.”

 

Anya fixes Lexa with a knowing look and arches her right eyebrow pointedly.

 

“Then why are we?”

 

Lexa sighs and tries to talk herself out of it.

 

She didn’t need this in her life right now.

 

Anya stands up, giving Lexa’s knee a rough pat.

 

“I said ‘Clarke Griffin’ and you fell on your ass. That tells me, that for all your stubbornness, when I walk out that door in thirty minutes, you’re gonna be right behind me.” Anya shrugs “What’s the worst that could happen?”

 

She and Lexa both know that Lexa can’t resist finding out.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lexa's POV first, then a jump to Clarke's

Lexa can’t believe she agreed to do this in the absence of alcohol. _What was she thinking?_

 

The music is pounding so hard Lexa can feel the vibrations in her bones. A rainbow of spinning flashing strobe lights and the insistent press of bodies is making Lexa anxious. 

 

She has never been very fond of parties or clubs, earning something of a party-pooper reputation from Anya. Normally with a few drinks in her system, Lexa can manage to loosen up and have a good time, but tonight she had decided to stay sober and be the designated driver. She did still have schoolwork to do after all, and work tomorrow.

 

Perhaps, her nerves are stemming less from the environment and more so from her impending encounter with Clarke Griffin.

 

They haven’t been here very long, only about half an hour, but there is still no sign of the blonde. Not that Lexa is anxiously watching the door and scanning the crowd for her. No, that would be desperate.

 

Lexa is leaning against the bar, sipping on a bitter club soda, watching as Anya and Raven quote “Tear up the dance floor!” and “Show them how it’s done!”. The shots they’d taken back at the apartment led to her sister and the Latina getting very chumming and just a tad bit handsy in the backseat on the car ride over. And now as they shamelessly grind against each other Lexa has to suppress a disgusted groan. 

 

At least someone is having fun.

 

Octavia dragged Lincoln off some time ago to introduce him to some of her friends, none of which were Clarke, and Lexa had lost track of them.

 

“Yo, Commander!”

 

Lexa’s head whips around at the sound of her nickname, and she sees a few of her teammates further down the bar.

 

She smiles and makes her way over to them, relieved to see some familiar faces. 

 

Ontari instantly slings and arm around Lexa’s shoulders and pulls her in for a rough side hug.

 

“We thought you’d be all tucked in bed by now!” Ontari shouts to be heard over the music.

 

“Ha. Ha. Very funny.” Lexa says disentangling herself from her tipsy teammate. 

 

The girl has short choppy, nearly jet black hair and a wicked smile. She and Lexa hadn’t liked each other much when they first met, but overtime they’d come to respect each other on and off the field. And once Lexa had become accustomed to Ontari’s particularly biting sense of humor, she felt pretty safe in calling her a friend.

 

To Ontari’s left, throwing back a shot like it was water in the desert is Emori. Emori is something of a mystery to Lexa, they hadn’t spent much time together despite being on the same team for the past two years. She seemed nice enough if a tad bit mischievous. 

 

Emori acknowledges Lexa with a nod and a tip of her glass, but seems otherwise preoccupied with ordering another drink.

 

And lastly, there’s Luna.

 

“Hey, Lexa.” She says with a soft smile, giving Lexa a once over. “You look good.”

 

Lexa looks down at herself. She is wearing one of Anya’s crop-tops with the graphic of a white spray-painted peace sign on the front and a black hoodie with her black skinny jeans. The outfit was nothing special, but Anya had insisted it was important that Lexa show off her abs.

 

Her abs were of course nothing new to Luna. She’d seen them often enough during practice and workouts and the locker room. And Lexa knew, Luna had her own to match. 

 

Luna is probably Lexa’s best friend on the soccer team, but maybe that's putting it too simply. Something more had always lingered under their friendship. Just a tad too much sexual tension to completely ignore, no matter how hard they tried.

 

They had addressed their mutual attraction early on in their freshman. A little bit of heated making-out had been halted and a very mature, thoughtful conversation ensued. They both agreed that soccer was too important to them both to risk letting sex or romance get in the way of it. They agree to keep things platonic and left it at that.

 

Their friendship had only flourished since then. They spent a lot of time together and worked really well together on and off the field. But still...a spark remained between them. Tamed, but not gone.

 

Lexa laughs a bit nervously, never quite sure how to respond to this sort of attention from Luna.

 

“Thanks. So do you.” She gestures at Luna, who does in fact look really fucking good. Her wild brown curls frame her face and she wears a black corset that shows off...well everything. She smiles at Lexa slowly like she already knew that, and quirks an eyebrow.

 

“You gonna drink with us?”

 

Ontari slaps her hand on the bar and demands four shots of vodka from the bartender, before Lexa can protest.

 

“No, no. I’m driving tonight and not really feeling…”

 

Ontari shrugs passing one shot to Luna and the other to Emori “Get an Uber.”

 

“No, thanks.” Lexa says again more firmly. Ontari shrugs again taking her own shot and preparing to down Lexa’s too.

 

“Who are you here with?” Luna shouts over the music.

 

Just then Anya appears by Lexa’s side, snatching Lexa’s shot from Ontari and downing it herself.

 

Ontari frowns and looks daggers at Anya, who just smiles sweetly.

 

“What’s up?”

 

“Hey, Anya.” Luna says, chuckling “I should have known. Where you go, the Commander surely follows.”

 

Lexa rolls her eyes and shoves Anya off of her. Anya wobbles a bit and frowns.

 

“The Commander…” she says mockingly “would have much preferred to stay home. I can assure you. But I’m trying to get her laid.” She pokes Lexa in the stomach.

 

Lexa cheeks flush and she scowls at Anya. 

 

The other girls howl in laughter and Ontari slaps Lexa on the back.

 

“About damn time!” She shouts.

 

“Good for you.” Emori says with an approving nod.

 

Lexa’s eyes dart nervously to Luna, who seems rather unfazed. She huffs a laugh and says “Who’s the lucky lady?”

 

Anya shrugs, completely oblivious to Lexa’s fury. “You wouldn’t know her. She’s an Arker.”

 

Luna just nods and shrugs “Sounds like a good time.” Then looking at Lexa “Good luck.”

 

Luna holds Lexa gaze for a moment and Lexa’s not sure what she sees there. Perhaps a hint of jealous, or maybe she’s just imagining it. Just seeing what she wants to see.

 

“She doesn’t need luck!” Anya declares, slinging an arm around Lexa’s shoulder and hugging her tight “She’s got me!”

 

Lexa is about to shove her off, when Anya turns them. Just a little ways away at a high table, Lexa sees Raven drunkenly hugging Bellamy Blake. And beside Bellamy, with a smile and a beer in her hand, wearing a paint splatter v-neck is Clarke Griffin.

 

_ Oh shit. _

 

“Excuse us.” Anya says, dragging her away from her teammates.

 

Calls of “Good luck, Woods!” and “Whoop! Whoop!” follow after them briefly, but are swallowed up by the music.

 

Lexa disengages from Anya's strangle hold and runs a nervous hand through her hair, really regretting turning down those drinks earlier.

 

\-----------------

 

Clarke hadn’t really planned on coming to The Dropship tonight. She’d had a long week and kinda just wanted to chill out at home, maybe sketch or catch up on homework. It was unusual for her to stay in on a Friday, but she was kinda over the partying every weekend thing. It was exhausting. She’d prefer to watch a movie with Niylah or play some video games with Raven or Bellamy.

 

But Raven had insisted on her coming out tonight. Her best friend swore it would be a good time.

 

Clarke didn’t see what the big deal was. It seemed like just another night at The Dropship. Normally, if Raven wanted to go out, she’d do it with or without Clarke. They weren’t the kind of best friends that were attached at the hip. Regardless, she gave in and dragged Bellamy with her. 

 

He’d been less available to her lately, since he seemed to be creeping up on boyfriend territory with Gina. 

 

Clarke doesn’t really mind, she likes to see him happy. She has been missing him though. There’s something special she gets out of her friendship with Bellamy, that none of her other friends can quite replicate. 

 

He’s a safe place for her. Her rock or whatever. 

 

It’s never something they had needed to discuss or acknowledge, but it was always there. Like a thread tying them together, leading them back to one another. Clarke knew he felt the same way.

 

Bellamy hands her a beer and leans in close to be heard over the music. 

 

“I got the cheap stuff!” He tells her, sipping at his own beer and making a displeased face.

 

“Perfect.” Clarke says with a roll of her eyes. She takes a big swig and stifles a grimace.

 

At that moment, Raven tumbles out of the dancing crowd and throws her arms around Bellamy, nearly tackling him.

 

“Hey, guys! Fucking finally!”

 

“Whooa! Easy, Reyes.” Bellamy says, practically holding Raven up. “You get started early?”

 

Raven grins happily and holds her thumb and index finger about an inch apart “Just a wee bit, yeah.”

 

“You having fun all by your lonesome?” Clarke asks, growing suspicious. “Is Wick here?”

 

“You’re still banging Wick?” Bellamy asks Raven, disapproval in his voice. 

 

Raven shrugs dramatically “Not tonight…” 

 

Bellamy takes another sip of his beer “That guy is a dick.”

 

Nearly doubling over with laughter, Raven says “Wick The Dick!” 

 

Clarke rolls her eyes “Time for you to switch to water, babe.”

 

“You’re no fun.” Raven pouts.

 

“Not as much fun as you, that’s for sure.” Clarke mumbles.

 

Something catches Bellamy’s eye over Clarke’s shoulder and he grins mischievously. 

 

“I think, I just figured out why we’re here.” He says around his drink.

 

Clarke narrows her eyes at him and resists the urge to look behind her. “Are you have an existential crisis?”

 

“I mean, yes, of course, always. But that’s not what I meant.”

 

Clarke can’t resist, she looks over her shoulder, just in time to see Lexa Woods approach, as always flanked by her sister who is already ogling Raven.

 

She starts smiling without realizing it.

 

“Uhh hi.” Clarke says, as her gaze travels up Lexa, from her sneakers to the green of her eyes. She lingers maybe a second too long on the edge of the crop top Lexa is wearing, a beautifully tan and taut sliver of skin showing between the shirt and her jeans. “Funny seeing you here.”

 

“Yep,” Raven says, stumbling into Clarke and nudging her with her elbow “hilarious.”

 

Clarke ignores her.

 

Lexa is smiling at her, a shy sweet expression. It makes Clarke wonder, not for the first time, how this girl earned the nickname Commander.

 

“Hey.” Lexa says, running a hand through her long dark hair.

 

They all stand in awkward silence for a moment, Clarke and Lexa staring at each other like idiots while the club rages on around them. 

 

Finally, Anya sighs and rolls her eyes “Well, this is underwhelming.”

 

Lexa smacks her in the shoulder, but Anya just grins unfazed. She turns to Raven.

 

“More dancing?”

 

Raven smirks at her, lopsided “If you can keep up.”

 

Anya grabs her hand and leads her away. Raven turns to sticks her tongue out and shoot Clarke a thumbs up as she goes.

 

“They’ve been like that all night.” Lexa huffs, stepping closer to Clarke so she doesn’t have to yell.

 

Clarke shrugs and takes a sip of her beer “At least, they’re amusing each other. Raven usually wears me out on the dance floor. I’m not very athletic.”

 

Lexa chuckles “Yeah, well I don’t care for dancing, but I have a lot of stamina.”

 

Bellamy chokes on his beer. It nearly comes out of his nose as her laughs and coughs at the same time. 

 

Lexa turns bright red.

 

Smirking, Clarke pats Bellamy on the back.

 

“Good to know.” She says to Lexa.

 

Lexa stammers, her eyes wide with gay panic “I-I meant, like athletically, ya know. Um soccer and-”

 

“We know what you meant.” Bellamy tells her, finally breathing normally. “And on that note, I’m gonna go find the boys.”

 

He disappears into the crowd. Clarke knows "the boys" probably means Murphy, Miller, and Monty, maybe Jasper too.

 

As much as she had wanted to spend time with him tonight, she can’t help but feel relieved to be alone with Lexa.

 

The girl is just barely recovered from her embarrassment. 

 

Noticing Lexa’s empty hands shoved into the pockets of her jeans, Clarke asks “Can I get you a drink?”

 

Lexa shakes her head “No, thanks. I’m the driver tonight.”

 

“Did you draw the short straw?”

 

“Not really. I just have shit to do tomorrow. No time for a hangover.” Lexa shrugs, and tucks her hair behind her ear. She looking out at the dance floor instead of at Clarke.

 

Clarke leans against the high table and turns to the side, staring at Lexa’s profile. She’s close enough to smell the scent of shampoo on Lexa’s hair.

 

“Seems like you do a lot of shit, huh? School, soccer. Do you work?”

 

Lexa glances at her, fidgeting at Clarke’s proximity. Her eyes dart from Clarke’s mouth to her eyes and away again.

 

“Yeah, Anya and I both work at this gym near campus. Reception, maintenance, that sort of stuff.”

 

Clarke bites her lip “So you’re really into fitness?”

 

Lexa shrugs uncertainty “I mean, with soccer and everything, I kind of have to be. But Anya is the exercise nut. She’s a health and fitness major.”

 

Clarke giggles “It certainly shows.” she teases.

 

Lexa finally turns her head to look at her, eyes narrowed. She quirks an eyebrow.

 

“You’ve been checking out my sister?” Lexa accuses playfully.

 

Clarke looks away and takes a sip of her beer before saying with a shrug “No. Not really. But she’s usually standing next to you.” She grins wickedly, and Lexa laughs just like she hoped she would.

 

“Okay,” Lexa says with a nod “that was smooth.”

 

The brunette looks back at her, finally seeming to relax. Her green eyes study Clarke’s face and Clarke just let’s her look, enjoys the way Lexa looks at her.

 

The music and the club and the people seem very far away all of the sudden. And Clarke realizes she’s glad she came out tonight, as she leans in slowly and kisses Lexa. She’s gentle but through, lingering just long enough to leave Lexa looking dazed as she pulls back. 

 

They are still inches from each other when Lexa opens her eyes and smiles, biting her lip.

 

\-----------

 

Clarke leads them someplace quieter. Out of the main room and into a hallway that ends with a sign reading _Employees Only_.

 

She backs Lexa against the wall and kisses her fervently, like she means it. 

 

Neither of them are drunk, Clarke only had the one beer, so their kisses aren’t sloppy or lewd. And Lexa is such a good kisser. She kisses Clarke like she’s been thinking about what it would be like to kiss Clarke.

 

Clarke presses against her until there’s no space between them, and slots her thigh between Lexa’s legs. Lexa lets out a little breathy moan and clutches at Clarke’s hips.

 

Clarke's hands run up Lexa's sides, over her abs, and come to rest just under the edge of the crop top. Her thumbs brush the bottom of Lexa's bra, itching to move higher.

 

Pulling back, just far enough to smirk, Clarke moves her mouth across Lexa’s jaw and nips playfully at her ear. She grinds her thigh slightly against Lexa.

 

 “You wanna get out of here?”

 

Lexa just pants in her ear for a moment, contemplating. 

 

Clarke is waiting patiently for what she’s sure will be an enthusiastic yes, when she feels Lexa push gently but firmly at her hips, separating them.

 

“Lexa?”

 

The other girl stands up straight and runs a shaking hand through her hair, avoiding Clarke’s eyes.

 

“I-um I can’t do this. I’m...I’m sorry.”

 

Clarke reaches for her, confused “Did I do something-” But Lexa is already moving away, back out into the club.

 

She mumbles “I gotta go.”

 

Clarke stands there for a few moments, dumbfounded and concerned. She worries she might have done something wrong, rushed things, but...everything seemed fine.

 

It’s only a few minutes later that she wanders back out into the club, but by then...

 

Lexa is already gone.


	7. Chapter 7

Lexa slept like shit. When she managed to sleep at all that night. She tossed and turned and kicked herself for running away from Clarke.

 

_What the fuck, Lexa?_

 

She didn’t even have a good excuse. She wasn’t drunk or high, and Clarke hadn’t done anything wrong. Not really. She had been exactly as Lexa imagined her. Hot and confident. Heated kisses and husky whispers of “You wanna get out of here?”

 

It had all just happened...so fast. One second they were just hanging out, Anya and Raven and Bellamy were there. Then the next they were alone and Clarke is flirting with her and Lexa is flustered and Clarke’s eyes seemed electric fucking blue under the strobe lights. Then they were making out in some dimly lit hallway in the back of the club and everything is heating up and...it just kinda felt dirty. Like a scene in a bad movie.

 

Lexa got overwhelmed and before she knew it she was pushing Clarke away and getting the hell out of there. Feeling completely out of control.

 

But the look on Clarke’s face stayed with her. The concern and confusion she’d seen bunched between the girl’s brows.

 

She shouldn’t have ran off like that. It was dramatic and weird and just sorta rude.

 

And now she felt like an idiot.

 

She gets up early from her shitty night’s sleep and tries to run off her embarrassment.

 

Without Anya there to pace her, Lexa runs wild. Fast and hard, like she’s actually running from something.

 

Lexa finally slows and practically collapses onto the grass in the park about a mile from the apartment. She lays there, spread eagle, catching her breath and enjoying the morning breeze on her sweaty skin.

 

The sky is mostly clear, a few wisps of clouds here and there, the sun rising slowly but surely over the city.

 

Her troubled thoughts catch up to her.

 

“Fuck.” she sighs.

 

\----------------

 

Lexa takes it slow as she makes her way back to the apartment, worn out for the first time in forever.

 

As she climbs the stairs up to the apartment she shares with Anya, the sweat and grime from her workout is starting to feel gross and the dirt and grass from the park begins to itch.

 

She relishes the thought of a nice warm shower. Maybe she could just wash off what happened last night and any thoughts of a certain blonde and be done with it.

 

They went to different schools, mostly hung out with different people. It’s entirely possible Lexa could just avoid seeing her again without even trying very hard. It occurs to her briefly that Anya might be sleeping with Raven, which could possibly pose a problem. _But how long could that last, right?_

 

Lexa pulls out her keys, turns the corner, and looks up just in time to stop dead in her tracks at the sight of Clarke Griffin.

 

_Oh shit. Oh shit shit shit!_

 

Clarke is sitting on the floor outside Lexa’s apartment. A tray of two coffees and what Lexa suspects is a bag of pastries nestled in her lap.

 

There is a roughly three second window of time when Lexa sees Clarke, but Clarke has yet to see Lexa. And during that moment, Lexa honestly considers running. Just turning tail, hauling ass down the stairs, and not looking back. She didn’t really like this apartment or Anya that much anyway.

 

But no. _That would be crazy._ Lexa concludes, just as the three second window closes and Clarke’s head turns slightly, her blue eyes finding Lexa and widening in alarm.

 

“Lexa!” Clarke scrambles to her feet, careful not to spill the coffee. Her face lights up with a small smile. “Hey.”

 

Lexa stands frozen, her keys still in one hand, one foot placed in front of the other, mid-stride.

 

“Umm...Hey.”

 

They stand in awkward silence for a few painful seconds too long. Lexa finally shifts her feet, takes a few steps forward, eyes firmly on the floor.

 

Clarke clears her throat. “I um, I’m not stalking you, I swear. I got your address from Raven, but when I knocked on the door no one answered so I thought maybe she gave me the wrong one. Because she was really hungover this morning when I asked her and sort of pissed at me for waking her up to ask her. But then I realized it was still kind of early so maybe you were still sleeping, because I definitely would be normally, but I just sort of sat down to wait anyway and um...Here you are.” Clarke is a little winded at the end of her ramble and looking at Lexa with wide eyes like she can’t believe her own ineloquence.

 

Completely at a loss for words, Lexa just stands there dumbfounded. She wouldn’t have thought Clarke was a rambler. But she supposes anyone might be under the right circumstances.

 

“I…”

 

“Can we talk?” Clarke asks, looking more than a little stressed and the most earnest Lexa’s ever seen her.

 

The look of genuine concern on Clarke’s face allows Lexa to finally overcome the utter awkwardness of the situation.

 

“Uh, yeah, we- you...Come on in.”

 

Lexa ducks her head and works on unlocking the door. Her hands are shaking so it takes her a moment to even find the right key. She can feel Clarke standing just behind her, can actually smell the coffee she’s holding.

 

Once they’re inside Lexa is reminded how sweaty she is, the air conditioning hits her and makes her skin feel clammy. She must look terrible.

 

She walks over to the sink and splashes some cold water on her face, smooths her hair back into it’s ponytail. Then she fills a glass of water and takes several big gulps before realizing that she’s just doing anything to avoid looking at Clarke.

 

She turns around and sees that Clarke’s tentatively taken a seat at the island, and seems to be patiently waiting for Lexa to collect herself.

 

“I’m sorry about last night.” They say simultaneously.

 

“You’re sorry?” Lexa says slowly, confused.

 

Clarke looks pained, her eyes darting away from Lexa. She gestures at the seat across the island.

 

“Could you sit?” she sighs.

 

Lexa doesn’t really want to sit. She feels oddly energetic now, even after her run. She's actively resisting the urge to pace. But she sits anyway, awkwardly on the edge of the stool. Hands clasped around the water glass, she studies Clarke closely.

 

Her hair is mostly down, with two strands twisted and pulled back, almost like a crown. She’s wearing a worn grey hoodie halfway zipped, with a bright blue tank top underneath. It’s very casual. Like she just threw something on. Threw something on to come see Lexa first thing in the morning to talk about how they almost hooked up last night. _She still looks great._ Lexa can't help but think.

 

“I’m not very good at this whole…” Clarke stops, gestures vaguely with her hand, then sighs, frustrated “I can be kind of pushy sometimes. I know that.” She looks down traces her finger around the lid of one of the coffee cups. “I can come on kinda strong when I want something.”

 

She sounds apologetic, but all Lexa hears is Clarke admitting to wanting her. Though she’d made that pretty damn clear last night.

 

Clarke sits up straighter “I just wanted to say, I’m really sorry if I did anything, at all, last night to like...push you or make you uncomfortable.”

 

Lexa blushes faintly, but its probably hard to see since she’d still flushed from her run.

 

“I...You didn’t do anything wrong, Clarke.”

 

The blonde peeks up at her from under her lashes, her blue eyes much less intense than Lexa remembers them being the night before.

 

“Really.” Lexa says, softly. “It just all happened...really fast, ya know. And I sort of…” she blushes harder “panicked.” She finishes her glass of water with several big gulps and can feel Clarke watching her.

 

“I haven’t…” Lexa hesitates, searching for the right way to say it “I don’t really...do that. Much. Ya know, in a while.”

 

Clarke’s brow furrows a little, as she tries to understand Lexa’s babbling.

 

“Do what?” She asks slowly, with just the hint of a teasing smile “Have sex?”

 

Lexa winces and hides her face in her hands “Right, that.” She mumbles, borderline mortified.

 

“Hey.” Clarke says, reaching out to rest a gentle hand on Lexa’s arm.

 

Lexa looks up slowly, and is surprised to see all the amusement has vanished from Clarke’s expression.

 

“That’s okay.” Clarke says softly, with a shrug of her shoulder. “You’re right. It was fast, and not everyone likes that.”

 

Lexa hesitates, but the words slip out “But...you do.”

 

Clarke pulls her hand away, looks down, gives another little shrug. “Sometimes. It’s just been really easy lately, I guess.”

 

Lexa nods and waits, as Clarke thoughtfully traces her finger around the coffee cup lid again.

 

“But, I mean,” Clarke looks up, suddenly shy, “We don’t have to move so fast.”

 

Lexa is not sure what’s happening. “We don’t?”

 

Leaning forward again, this time taking one of Lexa’s hands, Clarke says “I like you.” and Lexa stops breathing.

 

Smiling a little, “I mean, I don’t really know you yet. But I think, you’re kind of really adorable and yet somehow super hot. And it seems like you’re into alot of stuff that I’d kinda like to know more about so...Yeah, I like you.”

 

Lexa hears everything she says, but ultimately gets stuck trying to make sense of “really adorable” and “super hot”.

 

“So you want to…” Lexa tries not to let her growing excitement show, for fear of scaring Clarke away, though Lexa has already established herself as the skittish one in this relationship. She’s also trying to think of an acceptable synonym for the word _date_.

 

Clarke shrugs again and gives Lexa a bright smile “Hang out?”

 

The smile is contagious. Lexa nods and laughs a little at the pleasant turn her morning has taken.

 

“Yeah, I would...I would really like to do that. When do you want to...?”

 

Clarke’s smile only gets wider “What are your plans for today?”


	8. Chapter 8

“Are you sure this is okay?”

 

They’ve just pulled into the youth center parking lot and Clarke is definitely going over the suggested five miles per hour speed limit. The blonde sticks her tongue out slightly in concentration as she whips her little Honda Civic into the closest spot. The car jolts to a less than graceful stop and Lexa notes that they’re a little over the line on her side, but Clarke seems unconcerned. She puts the car in park and nods to herself proudly, making Lexa wonder exactly how much driving Clarke has done.

 

“Definitely.” Clarke says, in answer to Lexa’s question. She tilt her head a little, smiling at Lexa in a way that makes Lexa’s cheeks warm. “Why wouldn’t it be?”

 

Lexa shrugs her shoulders and stammers as she gestures vaguely to the youth center.

 

“I don’t know. This just seems...we could have done anything, ya know?”

 

Clarke chuckles “What like dinner and a movie?” she waggles her eyebrows “This is more interesting.” 

 

When Clarke told Lexa that they could take things slow and start hanging out together, Lexa hadn’t thought she’d meant right that second. And when Clarke had then asked if Lexa had any plans for the day, Lexa hadn’t done the sensible thing, which would have been to lie and say no. 

Lexa makes a mental note for future reference: _ If the beautiful girl you have a crush on asks if you have any plans, you say no with a dumbass smile on your face.  _ It was too late for that, however, the truth had spilled out of Lexa in a nervous ramble.

 

She’d planned to spend part of the day at the youth center to make up for some of the time she’d been missing lately, then she had work at the gym in the afternoon.

 

Clarke had hopped up excitedly from the kitchen stool and thrust a coffee cup towards Lexa saying “Alright, let’s do that then. I’ll wait while you shower.” And Lexa had followed blindly after her, confused as to how they’d ended up on their way to the youth center as their kind of first date.

 

Now, Lexa rubs at the back of her neck self-consciously, unable to shake the thought that this was a pretty lame first date or hang out or whatever it was cool to call it these days. 

 

After making a fool out of herself the night before, she was just terrified of blowing this second chance Clarke had given her.

 

Clarke seems to sense some of Lexa’s anxiety. Her expression softens as she unbuckles her seatbelt and turns in her seat to face Lexa.

 

“I said, I wanted to get to know you, Lexa.” She states plainly, then looking out at the youth center she shrugs “This is a thing you do, right? You like...volunteer here?”

 

Nodding, Lexa says “Yeah, just when I can, ya know. A couple of times a week.”

 

“That’s cool.” Clarke tells her sweetly, a hand on Lexa’s bare arm, her thumb stroking softly against Lexa’s skin. Then with a smile, she tilts her head towards the youth center “Let’s go check it out.”

 

Lexa laughs at her enthusiasm and feels some of her nervousness slip away. Clarke has the odd ability to freak her out and calm her down in equal measure. The girl seems a lot different than Lexa originally expected. This leads to Lexa wondering how different she must be in comparison to Clarke’s first impression of her.

 

“Alright.” she says with a shake of her head, exiting the car. 

 

Lexa feels strange leading Clarke into the youth center. She almost always came by herself, and there was the rare occasion Anya or Lincoln might accompany her. 

 

The woman at the front desk, Gaia, is one of the coordinators here. She and Lexa are fairly familiar with one another and she greets Lexa warmly as she signs in. 

 

“We hoped you might come around today.” Gaia says with a warm smile. “Aden’s been missing you, I think. Though he would never admit it.”

 

Lexa feels a tiny shred of guilt at that.

 

“I know, I’m sorry. I tried texting him, but he must have broken his phone again.”

 

“Well, you’re here now. And you’ve brought a friend?”

 

Her brown eyes shift smoothly to Clarke, offering  her hand.

 

“Uh, yeah, this is Clarke.”

 

“Hello, Clarke, I’m Gaia. I’m one of the coordinators here.”

 

With something of a shy smile, Clarke shakes her hand “It’s nice to meet you. I’m just tagging along with Lexa.”

 

Gaia looks curiously between them.

 

“Well, we’re happy to have any friend of Lexa’s. She a big help to us here.”

 

Clarke looks at Lexa, and Lexa fidgets under the attention. Shrugging off Gaia’s praise, she says “I don’t really do anything.”

 

“You do plenty!” Gaia insists, touching Lexa shoulder briefly before turning away. “You two can head in. It’s still early so the place is quiet, but Aden is here. I think, he and Madi are on the basketball court.”

 

“Thanks, Gaia.” Lexa says leading them away.

 

They walk quietly through the corridors as Clarke looks curiously around, taking the place in. 

 

The walls are decorated with event flyers, cheesy inspirational posters, and the ocassional amatuer artwork. Lexa can’t remember the last time she’d given any of it a second thought, but Clarke studies everything as they walk by.

 

“What are you thinking?” Lexa asks.

 

“What do they do here exactly? The kids, you? I’ve never been somewhere like this before.”

 

Lexa gives a half-hearted shrug “Did you ever go to summer camp?”

 

Clarke laughs “Yeah, I think, like a million years ago.”

 

“Well, it’s sort of like that. Neighborhood kids, mostly like nine to sixteen, come here to hangout. We organize activities for them. Games or movie nights, intramural sports, some educational opportunities. It’s just kinda...somewhere they can go. Somewhere safe, ya know.”

 

“Right,” Clarke says slowly, hesitant “but all these flyers. They’re for like hotlines and stuff. Do they...do they do counselling here?”

 

Lexa hesitates too, biting her lip. “Yeah, they do. Alot...most of the kids that come here...They’re trying to get away from something. Most of them come hang out, because...they might not have anywhere else to go.”

 

Clarke absorbs this for a second, her mouth turning down slightly into a frown. This is exactly why Lexa was unsure about bringing Clarke here. She was worried about bumming her out. Troubled youth isn’t exactly a panty-dropping subject, and it might bring up some things about Lexa’s own past she doesn’t enjoy talking about.

 

“So you just what? Chill out with them?”

 

Lexa tries to smile to set Clarke back at ease, but she’s not sure it comes off right.

 

“Basically, yeah. We chill out here, playing games or sports. There’s a rec room, a small library. Sometimes I take them out for food or to the movies or something, when I have the cash. Just whatever.”

 

She can feel Clarke’s eyes on her as they walk, but is reluctant to meet her gaze.

 

“That’s really cool, Lexa.”

 

Lexa meets her eyes then, hearing such soft admiration in Clarke’s voice. The blonde is looking at her thoughtfully, all of her flirting and bravado gone. They come to a stop next to an exit.

 

Smiling a little, Lexa shrugs and opens the door “I guess, it kinda is. Come on, the court is this way.”

 

\------------

 

Clarke follows Lexa outside into the cool morning air. It’s not even lunch yet, and the summer heat hasn’t kicked in, leaving the air around them slightly breezy and the grass still sparkling with morning dew. 

 

Behind the main building of the youth center is a large field. Close to the building is a paved area with some wooden bleachers, a small tennis court, and a basketball court with only one hoop. Further out, taking up the rest of the property is a soccer field, two ratty goals on either end. 

 

The courts and equipment are obviously old, but pretty well kept, Clarke thinks. She wonders where this place gets its funding.  _ The city? Donations?  _ She’s about to ask Lexa, when she notices the basketball court is occupied. 

 

Several preteens lounge on the bleachers, playing on their phones and talking, while two of them play a one-on-one game on the court.

 

One of the players, a lanky boy with messy orange hair, is stalling as he dribbles the ball around his body, between his legs, a safe distance from his opponent. The other player is a girl, around the same age, her long black hair is pulled back from her face in a swinging ponytail. She is bent over, hands on her knees, smiling wickedly at the boy, taunting him.

 

“The hoop is this way! Or have you forgotten?”

 

The boy smirks, but doesn’t move forward at all “I see it, thanks.”

 

The girl straightens up, opening her arms in a ‘come at me, bro’ fashion. “I don’t have all day, Aden.”

 

Lightning fast, the boy bursts forward. He weaves left, while throwing the ball around the girl’s right side and catching it behind her. It seems impressive to Clarke, but the girl must have anticipated it. She is slightly smaller and faster than him, whirling around to snatch the ball away from him mid-dribble as he’s preparing to shoot.

 

“About damn time!” the girl exclaims with a laugh as she steals away with the ball and smoothly tosses it up to the hoop. It goes in, and she grins triumphantly. 

 

Aden breathes heavily, his hands on his hips, as he waves off her teasing.

 

“Go easy on him, Madi! It’s not his sport.” Lexa shouts from beside her, startling Clarke. She doesn’t think she’s ever heard Lexa raise her voice when there wasn’t music to shout over.

 

All the kids heads snap up at the sound of her voice, smiles and hellos all around.

 

Aden and the girl called Madi meet them on the side of the court. Madi roughly bounces the ball to Lexa.

 

“Where the hell have you been?” the girl pants.

 

“Language.” Lexa scolds, bouncing the ball right back at her.

 

“Where the fuck have you been?” Aden says, with a mischievous grin.

 

Madi laughs and shoves him playfully.

 

Lexa gives them an exasperated look, but lets it go.

 

“Sorry, I got caught up. School and stuff.”

 

Aden pulls his t-shirt up to wipe the sweat off his face, and Clarke catches a glimpse of yellowish bruises on his abdomen. It’s only for a second, but long enough to be sure. Her eyes widen in alarm, and Aden notices her noticing. He looks at her for the first time, sheepishly. His shirt falls back into place and he shifts uncomfortably on his feet.

 

“Who’s this?” he says nodding to Clarke.

 

Clarke glances at Lexa wondering if they’d seen the same thing. But Lexa doesn’t seem disturbed. Either she hadn’t noticed the bruises or she wasn’t surprised to see them there. Clarke quickly composes her face, and manages to force a smile.

 

“I’m Clarke.” 

 

The two kids eye her sort of suspiciously as if waiting for more of an explanation. 

 

Lexa lunges forward, swiping the basketball from Madi and effortlessly maunovering it between her hands and around her body.

 

“We came to hangout.” Lexa declares, as Madi chases after her, trying to get the ball back. “Who’s winning?”

 

“Who do you think?” Aden grumbles, gesturing at Madi.

 

“I’ve got him fourteen to twelve.” Madi tells them proudly.

 

Aden rolls his eyes “Maybe Lexa can teach you some modesty.”

 

Lexa laughs, easily evading Madi’s assault. 

 

“It’s not really my sport, either.” Lexa huffs, right before jumping back and shooting over Madi’s head. The ball sails right through the net and Lexa breaks out in a grin.

 

Clarke’s eyebrow quirks and she is undeniable impressed. Madi groans, throwing her head back.

 

“At least, I don’t have false modesty.”

 

“Good point.” Aden agrees with a laugh. 

 

\------------

 

They stayed outside for awhile, Lexa and the kids playing around as Clarke was content to just watch them. Lexa unapologetically destroys Madi in no time, so Aden steps in and they double team The Commander. Which ends with all three of them in a heap on the ground wrestling for the ball.  Lexa cries “Uncle!” and concedes to the might of youth.

 

Then they all head inside to the rec room as the day grows a bit warmer. 

 

The rec room is a large open space. In one corner, several couches and bean-bag chairs are set up around a large bulky flatscreen. A pool and fooseball tables are set up on the opposite side, and in between is an assortment of mismatched folding tables and chairs. A chess board on one of them, a deck of cards on another. A bookshelf is in one corner, overflowing with board games. Anything from Monopoly and Operation to roleplaying games like Dungeons & Dragons or Munchkin.

 

The four of them play a few rounds of pool in teams of two. The first round is Clarke and Aden against Madi and Lexa. Clarke takes it easy at first, but then sinks four balls in a row before sinking the eight. Madi promptely switches teams, and she and Clarke get two more wins, before Lexa and Aden finally get their shit together.

 

They talk casually about nothing in particular, mostly teasing and banter. It’s obvious that Lexa knows both Madi and Aden really well, and they are obviously very close with her. They allow Clarke into their world with little to no resistance, never again questioning why she’s here or who she is to Lexa. Not that Clarke would really have a good answer to offer them.

 

She had just felt so terrible about the night before, convinced she’d come on way too strong. Even at Lexa’s reassurance that that wasn’t the case, doubts still lingered in Clarke’s mind.

 

Clarke had been sort of a goodie-two shoes in high school. She’d gone to parties and dated a little, but nothing serious. So coming to Arkadia and letting loose a little just felt like the natural thing to do. Finally away from her mother’s somewhat stifling influence and still reeling from her father’s death, Clarke had partied hard. She stayed on track with school, kept her grades respectable, but school had always been pretty easy for her. She went out, drank, kissed strangers, established a few good fuck buddies like Niylah and just sort of coasted through the last few years.

 

But lately, the same old scenes had started to get boring. And as easy as it was for Clarke to just keep hooking up, she looked at what Octavia had with Lincoln or what Bellamy was building with Gina and she sometimes wondered if she might enjoy a relationship like that. Something solid in her life for the first time since she came here. It didn’t sound so bad. 

 

These thoughts had just been fleeting doubts in Clarke’s mind until this morning with Lexa.

 

The night before, and during their previous encounters, Clarke had just looked at Lexa as another hot option for her. She flirted, because how could she not when Lexa flustered so easily. And she’d kissed her, because it seemed like the thing to do in that situation. 

 

But then this morning, Lexa had implied that she wanted something different...something slower, maybe something more. Clarke hadn’t automatically counted her out like she normally did when faced with the possibility of something serious.

 

So here she is, somehow. Hanging out with Lexa at a youth center, feeling unusually warm and fuzzy everytime she catches Lexa smiling at her. 

 

Eventually, Aden asks Lexa for a game of chess and the two settle down at that table to do battle. Madi grabs Clarke’s hand, drags her over to the TV area, and starts setting up Mario Kart on an old Nintendo.

 

Clarke smiles and goes with it, because... _ Why the fuck not?  _

 

They play in relative quiet, aside from the occasional teasing and cursing. The girl has a mouth on her, and Clarke’s not one to judge. She thinks it’s funny. Madi swear in that way of someone who’s still learning how and loving it.

 

“Goddamn little bastard shit!” Madi growls, when her Bower Jr’s car gets wrecked by a large banana.

 

Clarke chuckles and glances over her shoulder. 

 

Lexa and Aden are both leaning forward in their chairs, brows furrowed in concentration. Lexa has a finger to her lips, and her mouth tries to smile around it as she catches Clarke looking. 

 

Lexa winks at her, and Clarke flushes. _ Holy shit, this girl… _

 

“You just drove off a cliff, dummy.” Madi tells her with a smirk and a roll of her eyes. “Get your mind out of the gutter. This is serious.”

 

Clarke huffs and crosses her legs under her on the couch as she waits for Princess Peach to respond. 

 

She glances again over her shoulder, and this time catches Aden looking over at Madi. The boy’s pasty skin flushes bright red and he quickly looks away in a panic. Lexa is too engrossed in the chess game to notice.

 

Clarke smirks and nudges Madi in the shoulder.

 

“So what’s up with you and Aden?”

 

Madi’s face scrunches in confusion, but her eyes don’t leave the screen. “That’s random.”

 

Clarke tilts her head skeptically “Is it?”

 

Huffing out a laugh and shaking her head, Madi says “We’re friends. I’m twelve. What else would be up with us?”

 

With a quirked eyebrow and a shrug “Fair enough. I was just curious.”

 

Madi glances at her briefly “Guys and girls can be just friends, you know? The rest is just heteronormative bullshit.”

 

Clarke laughs in her surprise “That’s a big word!”

 

“I’m a reader.”

 

“You’re twelve.” Clarke says, nudging her playfully.

 

Madi laughs, real and genuine this time, no snark.

 

They play in silence for a few moments, Madi winning their current race. As the game loads, she glances over her shoulder at Aden and Lexa, then looks over at Clarke.

 

“What’s up with you and Lexa?”

 

Clarke feels called out. She manages to look nonchalant, gives Madi a shrug and is suddenly very invested in picking their next racetrack.

 

“Are you trying to get in her pants?” Madi asks, dryily. 

 

Clarke’s mouth falls open and she can’t fight her blush, as she glances over to make sure Lexa didn’t hear.

 

“Madi!”

 

“Well,” Madi insists “are you?”

 

Flustered and completely lost for words, Clarke evades. Poorly. She can’t remember if twelve year olds are supposed to know about sex yet or talk about sex yet. She’s pretty sure she knew the basics at twelve, but it’s all a blur of childish bravado and vague hand gestures.

 

“I don’t-Why would you…?”

 

“Why else would you be here?” Madi sighs, though she’s clearly amused.

 

Clarke is genuinely offended “Maybe, I thought you’d be cool!”

 

“I am cool.” Madi smirks “But you couldn’t have known that before you got here.”

 

Clarke huffs and slouches into the couch, out of denials. 

 

“We’re just...hanging out. It’s new.” She tells Madi quietly.

 

The girl looks confused again. “Hanging out? What’s that mean?”

 

With a sigh, Clarke shakes her head “I don’t really know yet.”


	9. Chapter 9

The familiar chaos of the locker room is in a strange way soothing to Lexa. The rattle, bang, and clatter of the lockers, the typical banter and chit chat of her teammates, even the ever present smell of stale sweat does something to ground her.

 

This is simple. This is something Lexa is good at. Somewhere she knows she belongs.

 

“Get this, okay, he actually says, ‘As long as it doesn’t interfere with our budget, I’ve got no problem letting you girls kick the ball around.’” Ontari says, imitating a male voice. She’s in the middle of giving the entire locker room a play-by-play of her Friday night, which isn’t out of the ordinary.

 

Lexa is sitting just to her left, on a bench with Luna. They are both already dressed for practice, relacing their cleats, paying the barest amount of attention to Ontari’s story.

 

Apparently, she’d found herself flirting with one of the freshman starters on the boys’ soccer team at The Dropship Friday night, after Lexa left. It seems the kid got in over his head after a few drinks.

 

“So-” Ontari continues, pulling her shirt over her head and rummaging around in her locker for her practice jersey. “Luna, steps up and says ‘Oh, you don’t mind letting us play?’ And at this point the little weasel must have realized his mistake, because he lost that smug smirk real quick, right.”

 

“It practically fell to the floor.” Emori confirms from her locker on Lexa’s other side.

 

“Right, so, Luna tells him the stats, right. Counts our fucking championships down on her fingers, okay? Then she says, ‘Do I need to tell you how many times the boys team as made it to the playoffs in the last five years…?’ Then she pauses for dramatic effect.”

 

Lexa grins over at Luna, already knowing how the story ends, but the other girl only shakes her head with a sly smile, not one to revel in this kind of attention.

 

Ontari slams her locker closed and spins around, holding her hand up and curling her fingers into an unmistakable O shape. “‘That would be zero!’” Ontari says with a dramatic imitation of Luna’s voice. The locker room is filled with a chorus of amused giggles, which Lexa can’t help but participate in.

 

Lexa nudges Luna’s shoulder and says “You couldn’t have picked on someone your own size?”

 

Luna shrugs, finishing with her left cleat and switching to her right “I felt provoked.”

 

“That little pissant had it coming!” Ontari declares clapping Luna on the shoulder, proudly.

 

Emori snorts “And you going around telling anyone who will listen, did he have that coming too?”

 

“Ha!” Ontari barks “He’ll be lucky to get laid at all his first semester if I have anything to say about it. Though I don’t imagine the freshmen girls will be missing much.”

 

“You’re ruthless.” Luna tells her.

 

“And petty.” Lexa adds.

 

Ontari smiles proudly as she pulls her short choppy hair back into a ponytail “Why thank you! High praise, Commander.” She winks at Lexa, earning an eyeroll.

 

“Just imagine if you used your powers for good instead of evil.”

 

Onari scoffs “Where’s the fun in that?”

 

Lexa shakes her head in feigned disapproval, and finishes up her left cleat before switching to her right.

 

Luna stands up and leans against the lockers in front of Lexa, wrestling her unruly curls back into a bun.

 

“How about you, Lexa? How’d your Friday night turn out?”

 

It feels as though everyone turns to look at her. Lexa fights a blush.

 

She shrugs, going for nonchalant. “What do you mean?”

 

“Last we saw, your sister was trying to hook you up with some Arker girl.” Ontari says, her memory, as always, is annoyingly intact.

 

A slow howl of salacious whistles echo around the locker room, quickly followed by snickering laughter.

 

Lexa shakes her head and finally stands up, suddenly eager to start what’s sure to be a rigorous practice.

 

“Come on, Commander, spill. Team bonding and all that jazz.” Luna prods gentle, a teasing smile on her face.

 

Lexa busies herself, pulling a hair tie from her locker and putting up her own messy locks.

 

“Nothing to spill. I uh, managed to fuck it up. Made a fool of myself.” she mumbles, shrugging again.

 

Ontari snorts in amusement “Yeah, that sounds about right.” She says, making her way towards the door. Most of the girls lose interest, patting Lexa on the back sympathetically as they file past, heading out of the locker room.

 

Luna remains “Don’t sweat it, boss.” She says to Lexa with a slightly flirty smile “That Arker girl doesn’t know what she’s missing.”

 

Lexa rolls her eyes “Now, that we’ve thoroughly dissected my non-existent love life, do you mind if we go whip this team into shape?”

 

Shrugging as she turns towards the door, Luna says “If that’s what you’re into, Commander.”

 

Lexa can’t help, but laugh even as she swats Luna in the shoulder “Ugh, shut up!”

 

\----------------

 

Practice actually lets out on time today. Coach saying something about not wanting to overwork the girls so close to Homecoming.

 

So it’s still early evening when Lexa finishes up her shower and leaves the locker room with a few of her teammates. As usual, Luna offers to give her a ride home, since Anya needed their shared vehicle for work.

 

The girls are teasing Emori about her upcoming anniversary plans with her boyfriend as they make their way out into the parking lot.

 

That’s when Lexa notices Clarke Griffin’s Honda sitting among the scattered cars. And then a moment later Clarke Griffin herself perched on the hood.

 

Lexa wordlessly moves in that directions without even realizing it. Drawn inexplicable away from her friends and in the opposite direction of Luna’s pickup truck.

 

“Lexa? What up?” Luna shouts, confused, trailing after her.

 

Clarke’s head snaps up at the sound of Lexa's name and a brilliant smile lights her face. She slides smoothly off the car and gives Lexa a wave.

 

“Um, hey.” Lexa says, cautiously once she reaches Clarke.

 

“Hey!” Clarke says, shyly biting her lip as she slips her hands into the back pockets of her jeans.

 

“What are you doing here?” The question comes out a bit dazedly, but the shy smile on her face must convey how happy she is to see Clarke again.

 

“Oh, um, Octavia knew you had practice around this time, so I was just hoping to catch you. We keep forgetting to exchange numbers.”

 

Lexa quirks her eyebrow and chuckles a little. It’s true that even after spending time together Saturday, they’d forgotten to exchange info. After the Youth Center, Clarke had been nice enough to give Lexa a ride to work. She’d been a few minutes late since they lost track of time with Aden and Madi, and had time only for the briefest of goodbyes.

 

Still though, this is the second time Clarke had put in extra effort to track Lexa down. She couldn’t help but feel a sliver of hope and excitement that the Arker seemed just as eager to spend time together as Lexa is. The difference is that Clarke isn’t the least bit shy about it.

“Are you sure you aren’t stalking me?”

 

Clarke scoffs and takes a step closer “If you give me your number then I won’t have to.”

 

Lexa snorts and rolls her eyes “That’s something a stalker would say.”

 

Before Clarke can retort, Luna catches up to them, eyeing Clarke curiously.

 

“Who’s your friend?”

 

Lexa’s teasing bravado evaporates once she remembers they are completely out in the open. She glances over her shoulder to find half the soccer team watching them curiously from the edge of the parking lot. She stifles a groan at the attention.

 

Clarke however, seems completely unfazed by their audience.

 

She gives Luna a once over, then a friendly smile, before thrusting her hand out.

 

“I’m Clarke. A friend of Lexa’s.”

 

Luna gives Clarke a curious smile and takes her hand. They shake.

 

“I’m Luna, we’re teammates.” She says bumping shoulders with Lexa.

 

“I figured.” Clarke says with a shrug “Are you like Commander 2.0?”

 

Luna chuckles, glancing at Lexa “Yeah, something like that. How do you two know each other?”

 

Both Clarke and Luna look to Lexa, who is struck dumb, her mouth hanging open slightly, speechless.

 

“Umm…”

 

Clarke steps up to save her “Mutual friends, mostly.” Her casualness is almost convincing, but for the way Lexa’s standing there nodding like an idiot.

 

“Lincoln is dating one of her best friends.” She manages to say at last, running a nervous hand through her hair.

 

Luckily, Luna has some mercy and doesn’t press or tease any further.

 

She just nods and says “Oh, right, that little freshman spitfire.”

 

“That would be Octavia.” Clarke nods the affirmative.

 

They all stand there in awkward silence for a few moments, unsure what to say or do.

 

Lexa rocks back and forth on her heels, while Clarke seems suddenly fascinated with the ground.

 

Finally Luna asks “So do you...like still need a ride home?” She points her thumb over her shoulder towards her truck.

 

Lexa’s eyes go wide and she glances panickedly at Clarke.

 

“Actually, Lexa, I was hoping we could...I don’t know, hang out for a bit? Grab something to eat maybe?” Clarke says a tad bit shyly.  “If you don’t already have plans, I mean!” She adds.

 

A slow smile spreads across Lexa face “Yeah, a-absolutely. Sounds cool.” She sounds just an inch shy of casual.

 

Clarke smiles victoriously, and says to Luna “No worries, I can take her home after.” There’s something smug in her tone and Lexa has no idea why she loves it.

 

Luna smirks, looking completely unfazed.

 

“Alright, then. I’ll see you tomorrow, Lexa?”

 

“Of course.”

 

Luna nods, then says to Clarke “Nice meeting you, Arker. Take care of our girl.”

 

Clarke takes a step closer to Lexa, bumping their shoulders together “I’ll do my best.”

 

\-------------------

 

Once alone they don’t really know what to do with each other.

 

It quickly becomes apparent that Clarke didn’t have much of a plan, beyond just seeing Lexa.

 

Lexa begins to wonder if Clarke lives her entire life in such a state of uncertain spontaneity or if there is something about Lexa that makes her that way.

 

Is it possible Lexa makes Clarke feel just as off balance as Lexa has always felt when it comes to Clarke? Could she be as affected?

Ultimately, Clarke asks Lexa if they can go for a walk in the park near Lexa’s apartment. It’s the same park Lexa normally runs in with Anya and Lincoln. It has a small pond, with a running track encircling it, a playground, and a recently added basketball court.

 

Clarke parks the car on the street, and they walk towards the park in a comfortable silence.

 

The sun is just starting to set, the sky turning slowly from blue to purple across the pond. A merciful breeze blows through the trees of the park, lending a nice contrast to the thick summer air.

 

“Ice cream?” Clarke asks, drawing Lexa out of her thoughts.

 

Clark tilts her head slightly, a few stray strand of her blonde waves falling across her face, as she gestures towards a small ice cream stand by the playground.

 

“Sure.”

 

“It won’t interfere with some extreme star athlete diet regime will it?” Clarke’s smile is teasing as she gives the ice cream guy her order.

 

Lexa scoffs “No! I don’t have a whole lot of restraint when it comes to food, unfortunately. I have to make up for it with exercise.” she says to Clarke, then to the attendant “Two scoops of Cookie Dough, please.”

 

She reaches in her pocket to pull out some cash, but Clarke halts her with a gentle touch to Lexa’s forearm.

 

“I got this.” Clarke says, taking a long first lick of her three scoop waffle cone.

 

Lexa watches, transfixed as Clarke’s tongue urgently chases a wayward trail of melting chocolate down the cone. Clarke hums appreciatively, then licks her lips.

 

Startling out of her staring when the attendant holds her own cone out in front of her face to get her attention, Lexa blushes.

 

“Thanks.” She mumbles to no one in particular.

 

She and Clarke wander along the path around the lake for awhile, before sitting down on a bench by the water. They both eat steadily at their ice cream and watch as the sun sinks into a brilliant orange horizon.

 

“Is cookie dough your favorite?” Clarke asks, taking a big crunching bite of her waffle cone.

 

Lexa nods enthusiastically “I guess so, yeah. It’s what Anya keeps at the house.”

 

“You know, your favorite ice cream flavor says alot about you.” Clarke tells her with feigned seriousness.

 

Lexa quirks an eyebrow at Clarke’s cone, which is a scoop of strawberry sandwiched between two scoops of chocolate.

 

“Really? So what does that monstrosity say about you?” she teases.

 

Clarke makes a show of looking offended, her brow furrowing severely and clutching a hand to her chest in shock.

 

“This masterpiece-” she says holding the pink and brown mess up towards the sky like an offering “Says plenty of good things about me as a person.”

 

“Such as?”

 

“Well…” _lick_ “For starters, chocolate means I have strong opinions.” _lick_   “People often find me charming or seductive.” She gives Lexa a smug smile, earning an eyeroll. “I’m open to new ideas and experiences.” _lick_.

 

“And what about that little bit of strawberry?”

 

“Patience, Commander. I’m getting to it.”

 

Lexa rolls her eyes again as Clarke clears her throat.

 

“Strawberry means I’m fiercely loyal and devoted, but also logical and bold. I don’t care what other people think.”

 

Yes, Lexa is beginning to see that, It had always been obvious to her that Clarke’s world revolved around her friendships, and that their group seemed to operate within a sacred bubble. Without much worry or care for what those outside it thought of them.

 

“That’s an awful lot for one ice cream cone to say.” Lexa takes a prolonged exaggerated lick from her cone “And what about cookie dough? What does that say about me?”

 

Clarke turns, folding her legs up underneath her, to scrutinize Lexa closely. Lexa's skin warms under her playful blue gaze.

 

“You are quiet and subtle. Not one to draw attention to yourself, if you can help it. But you're also resourceful and crafty, so people notice you anyway.” Clarke’s words grow softer, less teasing as she speaks “You can’t hide how special you are.” She practically whispers, like a precious secret. “You try to seem all serious and put together, but I’m guessing...you’re a child at heart.”

 

Lexa’s childish heart is racing and she’s struck dumb by Clarke assessment. She looks up to meet Clarke’s eyes and is thrilled by the sincerity she finds there.

 

Her ice cream is melting down the cone and onto her fingers, but she doesn’t dare move. Not when Clarke’s gaze is roving from her eyes to her lips and back again. Not when Clarke’s tongue sneaks out just for a moment to scrap across the blonde’s top lip, not when Clarke is leaning in.

 

Lexa chuckles nervously, but remains perfectly still “Where are you getting all this stuff?” she asks quietly.

 

Clarke’s mouth twitches into a smirk, her face only a few inches from Lexa’s now.

 

“I was um...bored in class earlier today, so I took a bunch of random personality quizzes online.”

 

Lexa smiles, her eyes fixed on Clarke’s mouth “What Your Favorite Ice Cream Flavor Says About You?”

 

Clarke nods, closing the short distance between them “Yes, exactly.”

 

They’re mouths meet firmly, but not harshly. At first it’s just the steady press of Clarke’s lips against hers. Then Lexa presses in a bit and Clarke opens up for her.

 

Both their mouths are a strange mix of heat and chill from the ice cream, and the kiss is filled with sugar and flavor.

 

Clarke pulls back momentarily, a breathy laugh bubbling out of her as she scoots closer to Lexa on the bench, pecking her lips playfully.

 

Lexa drops the messy remains of her cone and takes Clarke’s face in her hands, holding her steady, deepening the kiss until Clarke hums pleasantly into her mouth.

 

She kisses Clarke slowly but oh so thoroughly. Not like that night at The Dropship. There is nothing hurried or frantic about this. She kisses Clarke like she has nowhere else to be and nothing else to do. And Clarke for all her flirty bravado, melts for her.

 

\---------------

 

Lexa isn’t sure how long she and Clarke makeout on that park bench, but by the time they are both sated and breathless the remains of their ice cream cones are puddles at their feet and the sun has long since set.

 

They walk slowly back to Clarke’s car, hand in hand, with dopey smiles on their faces. On the ride to Lexa’s apartment, they talk about nothing in particular. The song on the radio. The pizza place on the corner. The classes they had that day.

 

She discovers that Clarke is an Art major.

 

“I’ve tried all sorts of stuff, but my focus is on drawing and painting.”

 

Lexa almost let’s slip that she’s seen some of Clarke’s work online, but that would mean admitting to basically cyber-stalking her, so Lexa refrains. Instead she tells Clarke, she’d love to see her stuff sometime.

 

“I bet you would.” Clarke says with a smirk and a wink in Lexa direction. Lexa simultaneously laughs and rolls her eyes. It seems she’s a lot less flustered by Clarke’s flirting after having kissed that smile right off her face.

 

Clarke pulls up at Lexa’s apartment and puts the car in park, turning to face Lexa.

 

“Thanks for letting me kidnap you.”

 

Lexa laughs and runs a hand through her long hair “I was more than willing.”

 

“Well, I have your number now, so no more stalking, I promise. I’ll text you, okay?”

 

Lexa nods, then finds herself leaning in and kissing Clarke firmly. Clarke kisses her back, hands instinctively reaching up to tangle in Lexa’s dark hair.

 

They almost get caught up again, but Lexa pulls back, momentarily rests her forehead against Clarke’s to catch her breath.

 

“Okay.” She whispers “See you around.”

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you thought or if you are in fact tired of Clexa College AUs
> 
> I live for comments :)


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